ARK: Book 1
by SpinoSlayer711
Summary: Book 1 of the ARK saga. The dawn of the ARK saga begins. Book 1 chronicles the formation of ARK Village, the discovery of the dinosaurs living there, and the War for ARK against the warlord Apollo.
1. Chapter 1: Stranded

Thank you so much for reading the first book of my Ark series! I have the second book already in progress. It's based more off of Ark lore than this book. Characters like Helena Walker and Mei-Yin will appear in the second volume. Also, please note that I wrote this book all the way back in 2015-2016. My skills weren't as honed as they are today so there may be some minor discrepancies, plot holes or grammatical errors. Dialogue is also not quite as realistic as it should be in some places. Still, I hope you can enjoy the book for what it is! Excited to hear any feedback you may have!

Chapter 1

Stranded

Villages in Africa were sometimes busy, sometimes not. This one was as busy as it gets.

"That's great!" said a voice.

The other voice replied, "Yes it is."

"Best of luck to you David, you sure did deserve that promotion."

It was James Castor, a professional explorer, survivalist and animal trainer. His career had started back in 1996, and he was able to build up the society he had a hand in raising up. It was known as the ESC, or the Explorers Society of the Congo. It was a society that specialized in cryptozoology and probing ever deeper into the Congo's depths. James was talking to David, a member of the ESC, congratulating him on his promotion.

David was a quiet man, and soon hurried off to the meeting.

"I'll see you there David!" James called back.

David waved and walked over to the clubhouse just outside of the village. Amakoko Village was much busier than a normal village since it was the last one before the deep jungle of the Congo. You're on your own after that.

James was a tall man, just barely over six feet tall, and with short brown hair that went up at the front. He had blue eyes and a face with a near permanent smile on it. He had grown up in America, and had always had an extreme interest in the outdoors, and with animals both living and extinct. In his teenage years he had decided to become a survivalist. Later, he had helped found the ESC, his friend George Anderson becoming co-executive.

James kept walking briskly along, looking down the main row. The marketplace he was at was full of people buying items. He went up to one of the booths and slowly let his nose take in the overwhelming aroma of spices. He kept walking along until he saw the clubhouse, a large thatched hut, where he would meet the 50 or so people on the team.

He walked inside and saw the podium where he would announce the beginning of the mission. He was the president of this particular club, and some of his friends were there. There was David near the back. He was a quiet man, who kept to himself, and usually explored on his own. He was tall, and muscular, with short black hair, and military style clothing. He had a tattoo with his brand on it. He was a mercenary before he had went into the army. David then left the army after his tour of duty to enter the ESC, but his naturally quiet, serious mood stuck with him, causing some to call him a stoic, which was more or less true.

Over in the corner was Shira, an Israeli woman who had been admitted to the club since her father was friends with the CEO of the ESC. She was also quiet, though her quietness didn't echo of confidence like David. She always seemed to be sad and depressed, as if something terrible had happened. He had tried to break the ice with her, but she didn't open up. Though James didn't have any romantic attachments to her, he liked her. Shira was slim, with green eyes and long, flowing black hair. She was in her middle 20's, and was average height. Even though she was sometimes gloomy, she was happiest when she was in the field. James had admired Shira work with large animals, and she had such a way with them. Lions and tigers which had given trainers trouble day after day, Shira could tame after a few short days of work. She was often hired out by zoos or animal sanctuaries to help them control their troublesome animals. She had once been much happier, as James considered her a happy person for some years. But since the last two or so years James reckoned, she had become sad and gloomy, though she never talked about it.

McClure was also there. He was extremely skilled at taming animals, and had been around African predators his entire life.

Brian, who was a slight amateur, had been admitted due to his knowledge of field equipment.

There were many other faces there, and James looked at them all with a smile. James stepped up on the podium, got out his notes, and began to speak.

"OK…Well, welcome to the Explorer's Society of the Congo. We have many people from many countries here today, and on this mission, we will be going into the heart of the Congo by helicopter. There's a large double-rotor copter waiting on the village helipad, we'll all be going there and traveling down to the Congo's heart. One of the reasons for this mission is to discover any new species of animals in the area."

He continued for another hour, answered various questions, filled out rosters, and then the entire team entered the huge helicopter and lifted off. There was a tiny airstrip on the edge of the jungle where they were going. They were going off in search of new landmarks in the Congo. It was one of the least explored areas in the world, and they were about to explore it. They would fly above a small part of the ocean, and then, after landing on the strip just inside the jungle, go into the jungle to explore. One of their goals was to find new animal species, hence the amount of animal handlers, and also to find any new landmarks in the Congo.

After a few hours in the air, James went up to the cockpit. He had some piloting experience, though he hadn't been in one of these big choppers for several years. He admired the controls for a while, before he looked over to the pilot.

"Doing alright?" he asked.

"Yep. Nearly ready for takeoff." responded the pilot.

James went back to the main chamber. The chopper was wide, with a large middle lane full of supplies and two long bench seats that went the length of the copter. He passed Shira, who gave him a weak smile, which made James wince inside. When people were sad, or in trouble, he had an extreme desire to help. He had tried to get Shira to open up time and again, but nothing helped. He sat near the front of the group. Shira had gotten high up in the ranks since her father was a good friend of the CEO of the ESC. That much he knew about her.

He looked down at his watch: 12:47 PM.

"Hmm," he said to himself.

Another few hours and they'd reach the ocean.

A few hours later and they were above the ocean. But there was a big problem. The pilot called James up to the cockpit. James looked at it.

"What's the matter?" asked James.

The pilot pointed at the sky. There was a tremendous thunderstorm gathering right above them. There was no avoiding it.

James tried his best to remain calm, "They didn't call for a storm!"

James was right. The weather forecast, which should've been very trustworthy, had gone terribly wrong.

The pilot strapped in and yelled back, "Everybody, hold on!"

They all held on with all their might. The pilot tried to turn around away from the storm. The storm was too fast however, and the rain suddenly pelted down on the cockpit windshield. James gritted his teeth and watched as lightning flashed, turning the black sky a blinding white, before turning black again. The wind came up, which was the pilot's worst enemy. If a large enough sudden gust of wind hit the propellers, the copter would lose control and crash.

Then, the worst happened. An overwhelming gust of wind smashed into the propellers, which caused the helicopter to flip. Everybody in the copter was flying, supplies flying, and then they spiraled down, down, down. The last thing James remembered was a gigantic splash, and then everything went dark.

He woke up bobbing in a corner of the helicopter. He was in an air pocket, and the rest of him was surrounded by water. This frightened him almost to death. He knew he was underwater. He gasped and looked around for something he could use. There was an axe on the corner he was at. He thought, but if he were to hack out a part of the helicopter skin, water would pour into the air pocket. He knew he wasn't in very deep. There was some light leaking through the open parts of the copter, and if he was deep the pressure would have crushed in the porthole. There were no oxygen tanks in the helicopter near him. He thought he could swim down and see if there was a way out, but that would mean swimming away from the air pocket. He wasn't about to do that. He decided to risk it. Die in the air pocket, or swim out.

He reached out and took the axe, and with one mighty swing, smashed a huge hole into the helicopter's skin. Water poured into the hole. He swung one last time, opening up the hole considerably. He tore open the rest of the hole with his adrenaline fueled hands, breathed a huge breath, and swam up to the surface with all his might. He was about 25 feet down. He got up to the surface and gasped. He looked for land and there it was; about a mile or two away. He swam with what energy he had remaining. As he reached the shore, he let the waves help him. Then, at last reaching the beach, he crawled onto shore. He laid flat on the sand, exhausted and soaked. He feebly looked up, shaking. The treeline was strangely shaped, as if he had crashed on some tropical island. His head hit the sand and he fell unconscious from exhaustion.

When he awoke, he saw where he was. This was a tropical island. He couldn't see any land near where they were. There was a cliff near the beach, and rocks everywhere. There was a forest behind a large field. He stumbled up and covered his face in his hands. His eyes were blurred, and it took James a bit to adjust. His head was pounding and thudding, with pain hammering on his skull like a rhythmic sledge hammer. When he finally got everything into focus, James saw where he was. He was indeed on a tropical island, though it looked very different from the thick jungles of the Congo. The beach was long, with rocks and logs covering it.

He got to his feet and began slowly walking down the beach, looking for any signs of survivors. He suddenly saw some sort of animal pacing down the beach in front of him. It looked like it was on two legs, and was quite big. He couldn't see clearly. He began walking towards it, but he suddenly felt horribly dizzy and fell onto the ground. He tried to get up. After a bit of a struggle he got up on his feet. He slowly walked towards where the animal was. When he saw it closer he had to rub his eyes in disbelief. No…it couldn't be. But it was. The animal was a dinosaur; something that had been extinct for thousands of years. Upon closer inspection he saw it was a type of Hadrosaur called Parasaurolophus.

James gasped; this was almost too amazing to be true. He kept looking in amazement. It honked with its bizarre crest and looked at James. He tried to reach out and touch it. The Parasaurolophus simply let him do it. James could hardly believe it, an extinct animal, still here on the earth. Well, he had at least discovered some new animal species. He also saw a huge tortoise near the Parasaurolophus. He had heard of giant extinct tortoises called Colossochelys, meaning Giant Turtle, and there was one of those on the beach as well.

James was having a hard time taking it in. What could this mean? This was, possibly, an island, where dinosaurs or supposedly extinct animals had lived in isolation since Noah and the Ark. In fact, that's what he was going to call this island, Ark Island. Since he may have been the only survivor in this new world, like Noah and his family were when they left their own ark. James was just a bit boggled about how this island could've remained undiscovered with all the sonar and radars and satellites orbiting and scanning the earth. He wasn't quite sure exactly how large this island was, or how far away it was from any other land source. Wherever he was, he needed to find out if there were any other survivors.

He kept looking down the shore. He was hoping some people had survived the crash. The last thing he wanted was to be on this mysterious island alone.

He yelled out, "Hello! Is anybody there! Anyone alive! Survivors?! Hello!"

Nothing. He knew they could be anywhere, but there was the terror of it. He searched desperately, shouting the entire time. Then, after a few hours he saw smoke. He ran towards it, and gasped in relief. There was McClure, David, and Brian. Shira was also there. They seemed to be the only survivors. James let out a sigh of relief as he ran towards them.

David looked and saw him, "James! James!"

Shira looked over and sat bolt upright, then she got up and she and David began jogging over.

"Oh James! You're alive!" Shira said sounding relieved.

James nodded and looked around, "Is there anyone else?" he asked.

David shook his head, "No. If there's anybody else we haven't found them yet. What is this place? There's…creatures here. Extinct creatures. How is that possible?"

James didn't reply.

"We need to form a plan," James said, "Assess our situation. Then we can look for more survivors."

They each discussed their own story, and then talked of survival plans. The helicopter was at the bottom of the sea, and they might be the only survivors.

Shira had escaped by jumping from the chopper moments before it hit the water. David had done the same. Tom and Brian were both stuck to the choppers safety restraints, but struggled free just before they drowned.

"James I think I saw you hit your head against something and then you were thrown from your seat. I thought you were dead." David said.

James replied, "I should be. Now for all we know, we're the only survivors. There may be others though, so let's comb the beach a bit more."

They agreed, but just as they began to disperse, a man came charging down the beach. It was Tom.

"Oh...You're alive!" Tom said, "I've been running down the beach for several hours."

"Oh Tom! I'm so glad you're alive!" James said, "Did you see any other survivors? Anybody at all?"

Tom didn't smile.

"No. I saw the others in the chopper. They...They were all dead."

James' face went pale, "What do you mean?"

"I had to swim through the choppers body to escape. I was in the back chamber when we crashed. When I got out, there was everyone…Just, floating in the water."

Tom crashed down on the ground and put his face in his hands.

James said in a grim voice, "Well then we are alone."

A moment of silence ensued as each began to truly understand what that meant.

"Let's make some shelter." James said, before they all nodded and began to work.

The last thing James saw was Shira putting her face in her hands, before he went into the jungle in search of timber.

They each built a lean-to, as all the people present were survivalists, or at least had decent survival training. They all could hardly believe that there were extinct animals alive on the island. James looked up to the sky and saw a large flying animal. It was a Pteranodon, or at least that's what he thought. He went back to the beach, wondering at what he saw. There was another Parasaurolophus along the beach, and a new creature, a dodo. He looked at it. The dodo looked back at James. He tried to capture it, and when he did, he killed it with a stone to the head.

"Let's see if this thing is edible," he said to himself.

Later that night, the survivors had roasted dodo. McClure was the first one to try it. He chewed it a bit and swallowed.

"A bit tough…not as good as roast chicken but not too bad."

the rest tried some, and agreed with McClure. The next cut they roasted they cooked for a little bit less time. It worked. The dodo was a bit less tough. The taste was more gamey than chicken, though it had a chicken's consistency.

They started constructing a thatch huts the following day. They gathered palm leaves, set up branches as supports, and by nightfall it was done. At least they had some kind of roof over their heads.

Later that night James went off by himself out into the beach. He looked up at the immense expanse of ocean and sky above him. One was black as coal, scattered with stars shining like diamonds. The other was the deepest blue possible, which was seemingly eternal, and unable to be crossed. He looked out into it, wondering if he'd ever be able to see home again.

James felt the sunlight beaming into his eyes before he opened them. Slowly, his eyes opened, and he saw sunlight pouring in through the thatch roof. He got up off his mat and looked around. Most of the dodo meat had been eaten the night before, and he decided to try foraging around the area. Close the camp there were some berries in patches.

James knew what any survivalist knows about food that you don't know about. To see if it's poisonous, touch it to your skin, if nothing comes up in four hours; touch it to your tongue. If nothing comes up for four more hours, swallow a little bit. Nothing after that, and you can know if it's safe to eat. James did this with a berry that looked like a raspberry but was blue. He called them azulberries, and they were safe to eat. He also found little yellow berries that were the size of a pea. They were inedible, since the inside was basically a huge seed. He called these amarberries. There were other types, ones that looked like black cherries he called tintoberries, and those were edible. He named another purple type that looked like a blueberry, Mejoberry. The Mejoberry was very sweet, and was James' favorite of the ones he tried. There were also small white berries called stimberries, which turned out to be quite bitter.

The last type of berry they found was jet black, and the size of a grape. McClure was the first person to try one. After eating a few, he soon became dizzy, and then he fell down, knocked out. James was worried McClure may have been poisoned, but McClure woke up a few hours later, unharmed. It turned out that the little black berries had a certain toxin in them that would cause the consumer to fall asleep on the spot, but after he woke up, he wouldn't suffer any adverse effects. James called these Narcoberries.

A few days later they had built a more solid base. They had made a fire, and a single building, though they knew they'd be here for a long, long time; possibly for good. James was exploring the area. He saw something rush across the field and chase down a Parasaurolophus. He stared in terror. It was a large Dromaeosaur called Utahraptor. He carefully went back to the base and warned everybody.

"There are Raptors in the area." he said.

The others James was getting hungry. He needed to find out what food there was in the area. A steady supply of berries to eat wouldn't sustain them for long. He went down to the beach. He waded into the warm water, looking around for some fish, a large rock in his hand. He saw what looked like a Coelacanth in the water. It was a Coelacanth. He got right above the fish, which, not being afraid of man did nothing as James raised the rock above his head. He threw it down on the fish's head with all his might. The fish was stunned just long enough for James to drag it out of the water and finish it off. He took it to camp, filleted it, and ate it, sharing some with the rest of the people. Coelacanths could get up to five feet long, which was a lot of meat. This one was about two feet long, giving each person a decent serving.

He went back along the beach the next day, and he saw a shark. He was terrified. Now there were Raptors on land and huge sharks in the water. It was about 20 feet long, with orange stripes. For all he knew, it may be a juvenile Megalodon…he was right.

When he went back to shore he met Shira standing on the beach. It was windy, and her black hair was flowing in the air like wisps of smoke. She was standing as still as a statue, looking dead on at the horizon in a way that made James shudder. James decided to go up and talk to her. He walked over to her, and she looked his way, not smiling, just looking, almost coldly, but the coldness wasn't directed at James. James had the strange sensation that the coldness in her face was directed at herself. It was a strange feeling, but it almost seemed to James as if she was grieving but James couldn't see what, or why. Shira instantly looked away though.

"Shira, what's the matter?"

Shira shook her head, "Nothing James. Really nothing. It's..."

James felt as if he couldn't say anything. He and Shira had always been friends, and sometimes Shira would confide in James.

"Shira...really, what's wrong?"

"I'm just remembering. When I lived in Israel my dad would always take me to the Mediterranean Sea to watch the waves. I loved those times. He'd just sit beside me, and we'd just watch the water until the sun had set. He stopped doing it when...when..."

James didn't decide to push it, and though he wanted to help, he certainly didn't ask about what or who she was talking about.

"It's alright." James said reassuringly.

Shira looked into James' eyes, then she looked back into the water. James sighed and put a hand on Shira's shoulder. Shira put her hand on James'.

"Thank you James."

James nodded, and they each looked into the water.

He went out again in search of more dodos. He carried a rock in his hand, and looked around. He found a group of three. He picked the fattest one, and flung the rock. It hit its mark. Practicing rock throwing as a kid had finally paid off. They all had some more roast dodo to eat, and as James went for a walk along the beach that evening, he saw another Parasaurolophus. He really wanted to have one. The other one he first saw didn't seem hard to tame. If he could just be able to make a saddle he'd get one. He shook off the notion. This wasn't Dinotopia, it was a hazardous, dangerous place that James knew almost nothing about.

He decided to try to make something useful. He got some wood for a stone pick. That would be useful. He carved a stone into a pickaxe shape, and then took a large wooden branch, and then bound his creation with fiber and thatch. Now he had a tool. He began gathering more stone with it, to make more weapons or tools.

Shira had been around the camp, but she still seemed gloomy. Even worse than when she had been in the ESC. James had tried to help, but she had seemed to exclude herself from all camp activities. He decided to leave her alone. Chances were she was working something out in her soul. He didn't want to interfere with that process, which he had to do himself sometimes. Hopefully she'd perk up soon, and James hoped that someday he'd be able to help her find the healing she needed.

As he returned to the camp, he saw another new dinosaur which was large and four-legged with had three horns on its head and was about 30 feet long. It was a Triceratops. He watched as the dinosaur walked off. He wanted to know about all the dinosaurs on the island, there seemed to be so many! On the way to the base he spotted another new dinosaur. It was about six feet long and had a small frill. James looked and said, "Is that a Dilophosaurus?"


	2. Chapter 2: The Tribe of Ark

Chapter Two

The Tribe of Ark

The dinosaur stood in front of James. It was a Dilophosaurus. It was small, at less than ten feet long, but it screeched and snapped as if it was some massive apex predator. It was covered in spines, and it had two strange head crests that made its head look bigger than it was.

"Go away!" James shouted, "Go on! Get out of here!"

Suddenly it extended a neck frill made of skin and screeched loudly, before spitting a glob of sticky venom at James' face. James narrowly missed it. James now knew to steer clear of the front of a Dilophosaurus. He had a stone pick in his hand, and he swung it at the Dilophosaurus' head. He hit, and the creature died.

He looked at it. it had a large frill of skin on its neck, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. He took some meat and hide from it. He decided to try and cook the meat, and after building a small fire, he tasted it. Almost instantly he spit it out. It had a foul, bitter taste and James had to wash his mouth out with water to get the taste out.

He went to the beach and saw a giant tortoise, dead.

"Hmm," James said to himself, "Odd".

He went up to it and took some meat from it. He also took the pick and harvested some of the shell. He could probably use it for something. He took some of the meat and cooked it on the fire, still glowing a small way down from the carcass. He tasted the turtle meat. It didn't taste as awful as the Dilophosaurus, just a bit tough, and without much flavor. It was also very dark.

He knew fish tasted good, so James went to the beach to try his luck at fishing. He looked under the water, and in the murky near-distance he saw a shark. But now that he thought about it, he might be able to make the shark beach itself. He quickly decided against that when he saw a Coelacanth in the water, which would be a much easier target. He swung his pick at it, and it swum a short distance and went belly up. More food. He was going to swim out to retrieve it when the shark came over. He must've smelled the blood. James flew out of the water and watched the shark chomp down on his meal. He returned to the camp with an empty stomach.

When he arrived, David was cooking his own Coelacanth.

"Anything?" David asked.

"No, I killed a fish but this huge shark made it his own dinner."

David shook his head. James looked around. How could this place have remained undiscovered for so long? How, with all the modern radars and maps, had this place simply remained completely unknown? More baffling still, how on earth could there be dinosaurs living on the island? James was confused. This place should've been discovered. It wasn't a small island by a long shot. Oh well, it didn't matter right now. They were here, and they needed to survive.

When he went out the next day, he was trying to find more food. He needed a good, reliable source. Shira and David had gone out and harvested a Coelacanth the day before, and Tom, McClure and Brian had continued working on a shelter. He spent the day looking but found nothing, so he went back to camp and worked on making some more tools. He crafted a stone hatchet, to make cutting down trees an easier task.

As he was cutting, Shira came from out of the brush, startling James.

"Oh!" said James with surprise.

Shira, with a dejected look said, "Sorry James...I didn't see you."

James had noticed Shira was being very shy and she seemed to be on stealth mode, constantly slipping in and out, as if avoiding all contact with the others. James tried to open her up a bit just this once. He didn't know how it would end, but if he could only help her he would.

"Shira," said James with a reassuring tone, "Is something wrong? You seem to be very troubled about something. We're all here for you."

Shira's face suddenly turned angry, "No!" She said loudly, causing James to step back.

She closed her eyes and sighed, "We're stuck James. There's nowhere to go. All you men go about as if we've discovered something great, but we're stuck. We'll all probably be killed by some creature before the end of this week. There's nothing you could do for me then. This place doesn't feel natural. I don't think we'll ever see a rescue craft. I'm never going to be able to see my family again. Never going to see my brother or tell him…"

She stopped. James knew exactly what she felt. Indeed, it did feel like they were alone. James tried to speak some comfort to her.

"Shira, we were meant to come here. We will get through this. You don't think I have the same fears as you? I do. Very much. But still, it's better to face it bravely than lose hope. I'm by your side."

James stepped over to Shira,

"I promise you, I will protect you. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, and to keep our friends safe. Even if we never get off this island, I will always keep that goal in mind. You have to be strong Shira. I know you are."

Shira's face lost a bit of the anger. He knew she didn't fully except what he had just said, but he hoped it would make some kind of impression on her.

"Shira," said James cautiously, "I've noticed you've been sadder the past two years. I'm not asking what happened, but if there is anything I can do to help, please tell me."

"I have to go." she said, and without a goodbye, she snuck away like a thief, leaving James alone in the forest.

The day after he went out along the beach. He had decided to explore more of the island's interior. Yesterday's encounter with Shira troubled him deeply, but he tried to put it out of his mind. He went into the jungle, warily. After an hour of hacking his way through the bush he came to a large freshwater lake. The water was cool and pure. He drank some, and looked across it. It was long, and you could see to the other shore, and swim across it easily, but it was so long James couldn't see the other end. He named it Lake Lore.

There was a Triceratops along the beach. James was again overcome that this place had living dinosaurs in it. He looked across the water and saw something he didn't like. It was a huge crocodile, with a narrow snout that ended in a bulbous bump, and a 40 foot long body. From what he could make of it, he figured it was the biggest crocodile that ever lived: Sarcosuchus. It was a killer croc that ate dinosaurs.

He steered clear of the monster, while looking for more food. He needed to find some dodos to eat. When he went into the bush all he found was a Parasaurolophus. On second thoughts, James went back to look in the water one more time. He saw another Coelacanth. When he dove in and killed it, the Sarcosuchus was so close he could see its massive silhouette. He grabbed the fish and scrambled out of the water.

He started building a fire when he saw another Dilophosaurus looking at him from a distance. James threw a rock at it, which scared it off. He lit the fire, cooked the fish, and ate it. Next he went to a rock. He was out of flint, and looking at the rock he saw it was flinty, so he extracted it with his stone pick. Flint is softer than rock so the pick didn't break. Now he had more flint for the fire.

Taking up the flint he was knocked backwards by something that darted over his way. He shot up and looked; with frill extended the same Dilophosaurus glared at James and screeched. James looked back. It was orange with white flecks. James threw a rock at the pest, who dodged it and scurried off into the forest. James was puzzled by the creature. It fancied itself an apex predator, but was just as likely to attack as run off in terror.

He was heading back to camp with a full belly. At least he had caught a fish. He walked along the shores of newly christened Lake Lore, when he saw the Dilophosaurus again. It screeched and shot over. James tried to dodge the venom it spat out but he couldn't. His eyes suddenly felt searing pain and he could only see through blurred and darkened vision. He yelled in pain, and flailed his pick wildly about. He must've hit the Dilophosaurus, since it screeched and ran off. he wiped as much off his eyes as possible, and then flushed them out with water from Lake Lore. After a half hour the pain left and he could see clearly again.

He went back to the camp but nobody was there. He built another fire and looked on. He heard an animal come towards the fire, and when he saw it he gasped in awe. It was a Stegosaurus, with plates towering up on its back and spines on its tail. It was coming towards the fire.

"What are you going towards the fire for?" asked James.

The Stegosaurus continued eating unfazed. Near the camp he heard a screech.

James gritted his teeth, "Not again!"

He rushed towards the sound, stone pick in hand. It was the same Dilophosaurus. This time, the deed was done, and he left out the meat for Coelacanth bait. He caught several with it, which he cooked in the fire. The whole camp feasted on fish that night.

The next morning he went out to chop some wood for a building they were starting up at Lake Lore. That would be their temporary base while they continued work on a village James called Ark Village. Each person built their own house, and the others helped out wherever possible. James and McClure had finished their houses, and Shira had almost completed hers. The others hadn't gotten much of a chance to build, as David loved exploring and camping under the stars, so James hardly saw him at all, and Tom and Brian were both convinced a ship or plane or helicopter would come by, so they camped on the beach day and night. James tried to break their trance and suggest starting a home. Tom was a bit more accepting after a while, but Brian would have none of it.

James' axe struck a log, which split in half. He swung again. Sweat dripped down his forehead. He set his axe against a tree and mopped his forehead. His mind was filled with thoughts and doubts. What of Shira? Had what he said to her yesterday meant anything to her? He saw another animal.

It looked like an elephant mixed with a hippo. It was known in the fossil record as Phiomia. It had the body of a hippo, with an elephant's head. It had tusks pointing down like fangs, a short trunk, and huge bottom incisor teeth. It was about the size of a rhinoceros.

The fledgling Ark Village needed some more meat. James and McClure had put up a primitive meat shed, so James was not only chopping wood but looking for meat. James and McClure were both out on a hunting expedition. They had primitive spears in their hand. They came to an open clearing and James looked ahead of him. He saw a Triceratops. It wasn't full grown, but was big enough, should he try to bring it down. James and McClure looked at each other.

"Think we should go for it?" James asked.

McClure shrugged, "It isn't too large. I think we can take it. Just try to aim for its vital organs with the spear."

They began stalking the beast, which was grazing, oblivious to the danger. When they got close enough, James lifted his spear and threw it at the Triceratops' chest. The spear stuck in slightly but fell out. A small amount of blood oozed out of the wound. It bellowed and turned to face James. He ran away, but the Triceratops followed, head lowered. James sprinted as fast as his adrenaline rush would take him. He leapt onto a boulder to try to get away. The Triceratops tried to clamber on top but slipped. It tried again and slipped once more. It turned, bellowed and lumbered off. McClure had hidden a good distance away. They regrouped and began looking for other food options.

They were near Lake Lore and they decided to look for food there. All the sudden, before he could react James was catapulted into the air. He looked down and saw the frill of the Triceratops. He was pole vaulted nine feet into the air. He rolled into the landing and used the momentum to stand up. It was a miracle he wasn't injured or killed by the horns of the dinosaur. It was the Triceratops he had injured earlier. The Triceratops had turned to face him, and James sprinted into the forest and down into Lake Lore. He breathed heavy. He had lost the dinosaur. He hid for a few more moments before going back to Lake Lore.

No fish. He looked at the beach shore for several more minutes before hearing the telltale crashing footsteps. The Triceratops exploded out of the bush.

' _Man, it is really not happy with me,'_ thought James as he swam out to the other side of Lake Lore.

Triceratops wouldn't swim unless it was a matter of life and death for it, and, as expected, it turned back. James saw a dodo on the shore when he clambered up.

"Well, there's lunch…" he said to himself.

After cooking the dodo, he ate a bit for himself and saved the rest to put into the meat shed back at Ark Village. He kept walking along the beach, gathering some of the berries on the bushes. There was a cliff on one side and the ocean on the other. There was a cove where the cliff went back into the forest before extending back out again.

Suddenly he saw something that made his heart skip a beat. There was a bipedal creature inside the cove. It came out and jumped into the air. It was a person. James' eyes widened. The man had seen him. Could he be a part of a hostile tribe? Or a cannibal? James also wondered if these could be allies. James suddenly realized there was another man next to the first man. James carefully went forward. The two men came closer and James hit the dirt. They were wearing cloth and hide clothes, very similar to what James was wearing. They were talking to each other and went forward a bit more when James stood up and held up his hands.

"Are you friendly!?"

One of the men shouted back, "Yes!"

James was amazed; these men spoke English.

James yelled, "Can I trust you?! Because almost everything I've come across here has tried to kill me."

One of the men shouted back, "Yeah, you can trust us! Come on over! We're part of a tribe that lived here! Wait, we're coming over! You can see we don't have weapons on us!"

James was both incredibly nervous and incredibly excited. In case they were treacherous, he took out his slingshot he had made back at camp. They came over on something James wasn't expecting at all. They were riding a Triceratops. James gasped. It had a huge saddle and bridle, and looking like a gigantic reptilian elephant tamed for a circus. They both laughed when they saw James' surprise. They both jumped down.

The first man was young, around James' age at 20 and odd years. He was muscular, but not overly so. He had thick, wavy brown hair, and cheerful green eyes, with a smile that was as infectious as they came. He extended his hand. James took it.

' _They must be from the outside.'_ James thought to himself.

The first man said, "My name is Shadow. We're from the Rockart tribe. We've lived here on this island all our lives. We have men, women and children in our tribe, and we live over the hill. We saw your craft hit the water earlier this week. We were wondering if there were any survivors. I'm so pleased to meet you! This is my cousin, Rhino."

James took Rhino's hand and shook it. It was large, rough and calloused, used to doing hard work. His hands matched his entire body and frame in fact.

"I am the tribe's carpenter," said Rhino.

Rhino had some sort of accent that James couldn't quite identify.

Shadow laughed, "What brings you here?"

James explained the crash and how they had become stranded on the island.

"Oh," said Shadow, "Sounds like our own story. My grandfather was the captain of a steamship from Britain. He crashed here and built a tribe here. But we have a problem in our tribe. We're becoming extremely overpopulated. 60 years here and we've had quite big families. We started out as 50, and now we number over 200. There's just too many people and not enough resources. How many are in your clan?"

"Only five. Myself, Shira, Brian, Tom, and David."

James explained he and his small crew was building a village named Ark, and Shadow and Rhino agreed to join them, teaming up, and becoming a new tribe.

"This may be what we're looking for." said Rhino.

Rhino went forward, "James, how would it be if we and a number of our villagers join your tribe?"

James thought about it. They needed the manpower more villagers could provide, and James felt like he could trust these people. They didn't seem hostile in the least.

James said, "Rhino, this is what I was looking for!"

"Then it's settled!" said Shadow joyfully, "We're now members of the Ark Tribe."

The next day Rhino and Shadow showed up, and with them over 40 men, women and children. There it was. The start of a new life in a new land. James knew he could and would make it here. He had to. This was survival.

The building of the village progressed rapidly. Shadow and Rhino became, along with James, the leaders of the new Ark Tribe. Within a month, they had built a village, and they had plans to build bases elsewhere, but first, they needed to focus on building the big village. Shadow knew a great deal about dinosaurs, and how to tame them. Rhino was a master craftsman, constructing strong reliable buildings and strong reliable saddles for their dinosaurs, once they acquired any that is.

He had wondered for a long time how exactly one was to tame a dinosaur. Some, like the Parasaurolophus, seemed like they would be easy to tame, but a Tyrannosaurus? How was that done?

He asked Shadow one day, "In your old village, has anybody ever tamed a Tyrannosaurus?"

Shadow thought for a moment and replied, "Yes actually, but it's very hard, you need a potent stinging concoction made from plant matter here. But yes it can be done."

James was astonished. He would've never thought that such a monster could ever be approached, let alone tamed. He chewed on this thought while they were building a hut for one of the tribe members. His daydreams were interrupted when Rhino yelled from the roof.

"Hammer please!"

James tossed up the hammer and continued his thoughts. As he himself hammered in planks and grabbed nails he thought deep about this place. It was beautiful, and he wasn't sure if he even wanted to be rescued. This was an adventurer's paradise, and James was sure he'd love it here. His only problem was Shira. He wanted to help her, to raise her from the depression she was in. As he looked around, he was stunned by the wonder of it all. This vast expanse of plains and jungle and ocean before him. He was startled out of his wonderment when he heard a loud yell from Rhino. He looked up to see him drop the hammer, shake his hand violently, and put his thumb in his mouth.

James went out with Shadow and Rhino. They were building a hut for an elderly tribeswoman, and they needed to collect some wood. They set about chopping down trees.

Rhino thought for a second on what they would need, "Oh, guys, we're going to need some hide, but we don't have any down at the village storehouse."

James thought for a moment and said, "Well Triceratops give plenty of hide, and they're all over the place."

The three of them agreed that's what they should do. They found a decent sized female along the beach and went to harvest it, when all the sudden an enormous bull charged out from the undergrowth, and he was heading right for James.


	3. Chapter 3: The Campfire Crew

James dodged the huge Triceratops' massive head. Shadow and Rhino both hacked at the dinosaur's back with their hatchets and picks. They spun around it, constantly hacking and swiping. The bull was huge, about 30 feet long, with horns long enough to run three people through. One person would distract the Triceratops, and another would attack the creature, along with the other. The Triceratops was losing blood, and James kept going at it. After a while they brought down the Triceratops.

They harvested the hide and took some of the meat. Tom came from the north. He had come to see what the others were doing. He saw the carcass of the Triceratops and gasped in awe. The dinosaur was quite big; obviously a bull. They saw a Parasaurolophus on the other side of the field they were in.

James looked and said, "There's another Parasaurolophus."

Parasaurolophus was James' favorite dinosaur.

Shadow huffed, "If we didn't have to drag this Triceratops out of here I'd probably tame that Parasaur."

"Shadow, why don't you hold classes or something on how to tame certain dinosaurs?" James asked.

Shadow cocked his head, "Not a bad idea..."

Rhino huffed, "He's full of himself, Shadow you remember the time when you were trying to "tame" that Parasaur and when you eventually got a saddle on it you mounted it and it threw you all the way to-"

"Yes!" interrupted Shadow, "My tailbone still hurts!"

Rhino shook his head and laughed a big booming laugh.

Shadow mock laughed, "Rhino, do you remember the time you tried to get on that Stegosaurus that didn't really like you and when you got in front of it that thing roared so loud it scared you half to-"

"I can do a very accurate copy of that roar if you don't end your story right now."

James chuckled and continued working.

Out of the blue as they were dragging the remains of the Triceratops a man ran out of nowhere and started charging at Rhino. The men looked at the man, who came closer and closer before running right into Rhino, before punching him in the face. Rhino, startled, ran off when the man pulled out a stone hatchet.

Shadow looked at James, "What just happened?!"

Suddenly the man wheeled around and started attacking James. James saw him raise his hatchet while he was running. James froze and at just the right moment jumped out of the maniac's way. The man swung with all his might, but missed James, throwing himself off balance. James took the moment, threw himself on the man's back, and performed a choke hold. Shadow came around and wrenched the hatchet out of the man's hand.

James let go of his hold a bit and demanded to the man, "What's your name?"

the man said, "Axelon…Dino Raiders tribe."

James let him get up and said firmly, "Don't ever do that again," before landing a resounding sucker punch to his face, knocking him out.

They dragged him over to a rock before leaving promptly. They didn't want him to find out where Ark Village was at all. James was unnerved by the encounter. He looked at the unconscious Dino Raider, then at Rhino, "Have you heard of the Dino Raiders at all?" Rhino huffed, "They're scum," he said, "A bunch of cutthroats. They attacked us before but we were able to fend them off. Nothing but a petty thieving tribe." James looked back at the man before they abandoned him.

They needed more hide, and Shadow told James the strongest hide available was that of the Triceratops. When they found one, they both charged and hacked with their stone picks. The only problem with hunting Triceratops is that when threatened, it will attack with its horns. James attacked and the Triceratops turned around and almost stabbed James with his horns. He narrowly missed, but its horns pierced James' shirt, and ripped it off. It remained one of James' closest brushes with death. They quickly dispatched the Triceratops, and harvested the hide and meat.

Rhino and David came up when they heard the racket, to see James and Shadow harvesting meat and hide. After totally taking all the resources they went down to the beach to cook some of the Triceratops' meat.

When they were done, they noticed David wasn't there.

James looked around and wondered aloud, "Where'd David go?"

He looked up the hill from the beach.

David come sprinting down the hill yelling, "Get in the water now! Hurry! The water!"

The reason for David's panic soon showed itself when a Triceratops came bowling down the hill bellowing. They all scrambled into the water, and the Triceratops didn't follow. After crawling up the other side James looked at David, who had an embarrassed smile on his face.

Rhino said, "Why'd you do that David?"

No answer on David's end.

They built a campfire on the other end of the lake, and since evening was coming, they decided to camp there for the night. It also happened that there were all kinds of Coelacanths in that part of the water. James had gotten quite skilled at harvesting Coelacanths. Since they had absolutely no fear of man, he could do anything short of touching them when near, and it was quite an easy task to catch them. James would go underwater with a stone, or club, and then he'd club the fish over the head. They'd go down, and he'd cook them.

He found one near the camp and he caught it and brought it back.

Shadow congratulated James on his catch, "Great work James! Still, that won't be enough to feed us all. Rhino can eat an entire Coelacanth by himself anyway."

Rhino gave Shadow a look, "Why don't you help James go catch one?"

Shadow laughed, "With pleasure!"

So James went out and gathered another one. Shadow went out to catch one more, but he killed his with a slingshot, firing into the water. Shadow came back after a short while with one more fish. Now they had enough. They cooked the meat and had a feast. It was dark now, and James thought he saw something moving in the shadows of the fire. James alerted his friends. It wasn't a dinosaur; it was a human. After that nutcase had tried to kill Rhino and Shadow, he wasn't in the mood to be visited by people he didn't know. Who were these Dino Raiders anyway? The tribe's name didn't sound very friendly that was for sure.

Suddenly Shadow let out a scream. He was being attacked. James went over, found the attacker and knocked him out. It was the same person who had tried to attack them earlier: Axelon. James didn't like this at all. Things got even scarier when another person dragged away Axelon's unconscious body. James told the men to get out their weapons. Several tense minutes passed. Nothing else happened.

"Alright guys, let's be careful here," Shadow said, "There could be more. Keep your weapons out."

An hour later, and nothing happened. No people came by, and it seemed like all the Dino Raiders had gone. A twig snapped near the water's edge.

James sat bolt upright, "Who now?" he asked under his breath

It was another human, though the person looked more slender and faster than the others. James narrowed his eyes. Was it a woman? Coming into the glow of the firelight was Shira.

"Shira!" James exclaimed, "I'm so relieved to see you!"

"Where've you guys been?" she asked, "The entire village is looking for you."

"We're getting out of here at first light," James replied "We're OK, there's some bad characters around here."

Shira raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

Shadow spoke, "There's a group of men called the Dino Raiders that are harassing us. I know plenty about those cutthroats."

Shira looked around, "Should I stay now that I'm out?"

James thought about it. Now that she was here she may as well stay. A Dino Raider, or whatever these maniacs were could easily kill her if she went out alone.

"Yes. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you, but be careful, there are some nasty people around here."

Shira nodded, "Alright. I came prepared."

She lifted the edge of her cloak to reveal a sheathed knife.

James laughed, "Good job. Here, have some fish."

She sat down and picked up the trencher with the sizzling fish on it. She picked up a fork shaped stick and began eating the fish.

She nodded, "This is the first time I've eaten this." she said.

James raised an eyebrow, "I thought you've already eaten it before?"

She shook her head, "No, I actually haven't. I've eaten some of the berries and other meat but never this. I actually don't like fish much but this is pretty tasty."

James noticed that Shira seemed a little less depressed than she had been. He still didn't know what the problem was, but he let it go, and enjoyed himself. There were no more signs of the Dino Raiders. They continued eating, before Shadow spoke.

"So Shira, where do you come from?"

James was suddenly excited. Now he might be able to find out a little bit more about her.

She finished chewing on her fish and responded, "Well I lived in America before I came here."

"Oh I know where that is. Some of the older people in my old tribe lived there. Were you born there?"

"No, I was born in Israel. My father had a position in the government there, and he got me a position in the ESC, which is the explorer's society of the Congo. That's a jungle in Africa."

Shadow nodded. "I haven't heard of Israel...although that's the other name of Jacob in the Bible right?"

James perked up, "You know about the Bible?"

Shadow nodded vigorously, "When the ship crashed, not much washed up on the beach, except a Bible, completely dry and intact. It was a miracle. But, that's the name of a country now?"

Shira nodded.

"Interesting. Any brothers or sisters?"

Shira stopped eating and began staring into the fire, before looking down and quickly saying, "Uh, a brother. No sisters."

Shadow looked at James, who looked back. James was beginning to piece together Shira's puzzle, but he still didn't have enough pieces. He had a hunch though that whatever was eating at Shira had something to do with her brother.

Shadow broke the ice again, "Uh, were you or are you married?"

Shira shook her head, "No I haven't married."

James got a bit uncomfortable with that question.

He tried to change the subject, "Rhino what about you?"

Rhino looked up startled, "Wha?" he said confused, he had been nodding off a bit.

"Never mind." said James.

The fire continued to flicker on the high grass, illuminating the faces of James' friends. He built up the fire and they each finished off their portions of fish, and after a while bedded down, with one person keeping watch for any enemies.

It was James' turn to keep watch. As he watched, he looked into the night sky. There was a thin crescent moon high in the sky, and dozens of stars shining like tiny diamonds tossed throughout the inky darkness above James' head. There were certain things that James admired, and he could name dozens of examples, but one of the things that always got at his heart, was a night sky full of stars. It made his heart swell up with happiness. He smiled and stared into the deep abyss. Then he looked down. The fire sent sparks into the air, as if they were reaching for the sky, trying to become stars themselves. He chuckled, and then looked down. Shadow was asleep and after a bit he shifted and began snoring. Rhino was snoring and loudly too. Then he looked down at Shira. She was sleeping peacefully, and it calmed James to see her. Her blanket had slipped a bit down her body, and it was chillier here. He stooped down and gently pulled the covers up and over her. She stirred a bit and then her eyes slowly opened.

She tugged a bit on the blanket and said, "What time is it?"

"A bit passed midnight." James replied.

"What were you doing?" she asked sleepily.

"Just admiring the stars."

She began to sit up, and then she looked up herself.

After a while looking up together Shira said, "You know...I've never really bothered looking up at the stars."

"I've always looked up when I can."

James continued looking up and then a tear formed in her eye.

James looked at her, "Shira, is there anything I can do to help you?"

She shook her head, "No James. Not now. I just...I just have some things to think about. What you said. You told me that we were planted us here for a reason. I never really thought of that."

James was encouraged. He felt as if he had lit a light in Shira's dark soul, though he wished he could know why it was so dark. He still felt that now wasn't the time to ask. He was content to know that he had helped her.

"It's late Shira, you go back to sleep. We'll return to Ark Village in the morning."

She nodded, "Alright."

Then she slumped back down and James pulled the covers over her again. She smiled and James smiled back. It warmed James to see her finally smile. Then he returned to his post and looked back up at the sky, and then back at Shira, her eyes warmly looking back at him, then they both closed and James felt a wonderful sense of peace.


	4. Chapter 4: Standoff Battles

Chapter 4

Standoff Battles

Near Ark Village, James was on a dodo hunt. They took the meat, and either ate it in the village, or smoked it in the village smokehouse. He found one, and harvested it. He wondered if he'd ever be able to create a dodo farm, but the village had bigger problems right now. They were still building up their lives. It surprised James sometimes, that he really didn't miss the world back home. He found another dodo and harvested it. That would be enough meat to last for a few days. He also gathered some thatch and wood.

He went along the beach, headed back to the village and saw an Apatosaurus charging down the beach. It bellowed, and James gave it a wide berth. He saw Tom coming from behind it.

James yelled over, "Tom! What are you doing?!"

Tom yelled back, still running after the Apatosaurus, "Behind you!"

James looked behind him and saw something he'd never seen before charging towards him. It was a gigantic carnivorous dinosaur, with a huge sail on its back, charging towards on two legs, with its arms outstretched. It was a Spinosaurus. James sprinted, and the Spinosaurus looked over in his direction. It roared and changed directions towards him. He was running away from the ocean, and the Spinosaurus ran after him. James kept looking behind, and after going a good distance, it slowed down, but kept coming. After a while, it turned back and stalked off without a roar. James was confused. He crept back down, and waited till the Spinosaurus was a bit closer to the water, and then daringly shouted to it. It turned, roared and charged again. He ran back to where the Spinosaur turned back again, and it did the same. When it reached that spot, it just turned and nonchalantly went back to the seashore. James had just learned something very interesting about the Spinosaurus. The closer to its territory you were, the more aggressive it was. However, the further away you got, the less aggressive it became.

"That will come in handy in the future," he told himself.

He returned to the village with the meat, and he told Shadow about the new dinosaur he had discovered. Tom was with him.

"You found what!?" Shadow said.

"Spinosaurus. It was chasing Tom."

Shadow said even he had never seen one before. They lived in the center of the jungle, and Spinosaurus lived in the seashore, which explained why.

"Well…one more thing to be afraid of in this place," said Shadow.

He went out again and ate some Coelacanth he gathered. He had gone out to collect some stone for some buildings. He took his stone hatchet and hacked at some rocks. Suddenly, he heard a bellow above him. There were three Triceratops who were visibly angry with him. He sprinted towards the ocean as fast as he could. He got some distance between him and the Triceratops. They charged like an angry herd of bulls, and he jumped into the water. One thing they had learned about Triceratops was that it would never go into water unless it was a matter of life or death. As expected, the angry Triceratops bellowed, and returned back to the forest.

He clambered out of the water when he felt a searing pain rush up his leg. He had gotten stung by a stingray. James screamed as hammering fiery pain enveloped his leg. James thought he could describe it as a demon biting him. He limped back to the beach with the excruciating pain slicing into him, and just as he reached the grass he fell to the ground, convulsed in agony, and all faded into black.

He woke up in the same place, but he felt something grabbing his leg. Instinctively, he lunged towards the thing.

"James! It's OK! Calm down." it was Rhino.

James' head fell back on the grass, his head drenched with sweat. The pain suddenly slammed into him with the force of a freight train. He winced.

"Don't worry James. I'm putting a healing salve on it that'll relieve the pain." Rhino said.

James crushed the grass in his hand and gritted his teeth. It felt like his leg was being stabbed by butcher knives non-stop. The pain only intensified when Rhino put the salve on. But the pain soon lowered down dramatically. James sighed and mopped his soaking forehead.

He took a day to recover, but the healing salve Rhino gave him worked wonders. He went out to get some of his strength back after spending an entire day bedridden. He had a slight limp that would disappear in a few more days. He looked around the beach and saw an Apatosaurus charging towards somebody. It was McClure. The Apatosaurus apparently was charging him. James watched helplessly as the Apatosaurus gained on him, about to crush him to death. There was a 10 foot tall cliff ledge, and McClure climbed it and escaped the Apatosaurus, which stopped chasing him.

When James met up with McClure, he explained, "There was a Raptor that was attacking it. The Apatosaur warded off the Raptor but stampeded, and I couldn't get out of its way."

Fortunately, the cliff saved him from almost certain death.

That night, James went out with Shadow to gather some meat. Certain animals only come out at night, or are more active at night, including the hippo-like elephant Phiomia. It was active during the day, but it fed at night, to get away from certain predators. However, some predators were active at night, and more aggressive. They found a Phiomia a mile from Ark Village, and they brought it down. They were harvesting some of the meat when they heard some loud crashing footsteps. In the moonlight, the dim shape of a Carnotaurus tore into them.

The Carnotaurus was a 25 foot long carnivorous dinosaur with armor, and two horns above its eyes. It was also dangerously fast.

Shadow yelled, and swiped at the beasts' head with his gutting knife. That wouldn't do much, since the Carnotaurus had extremely thick hide. Its only accessible weak spot was its eyes. James took his knife, and swiped at its eyes. It roared, and just as quickly as it had arrived, it sped away back into the jungle. James and Shadow took a bit more meat and quickly left the area. Sometimes Carnotaurus worked in pairs, and two Carnotaurus could be overwhelming.

The next day James went out to try to find some berries. He was on the beach when he saw something he had never seen before. It looked like a huge cat. He could tell by its shape, but when it pounced onto the beach in front of him, James could see it completely. It was jet black, and bigger than a tiger. It had two gigantic fangs in its mouth. It was a Smilodon, more popularly known as a saber-toothed cat.

James got out his stone hatchet, and looked away from it. he knew to never look a big cat in the eye. He slowly grabbed some meat out of his pocket, and threw it on the ground, while praying for God's protection. The cat seemed to relax, and then, it took the meat in its mouth, and stalked back into the brush. James let out a sigh and retreated back to Ark Village. He had enough close calls for one night.

The next morning came quickly. They were constantly building and repairing, and it called for a lot of wood. James had to go into the forest to collect more.

He entered the forest and saw something speed in front of him. It was running perpendicular to him. it was definitely a Raptor. James was terrified of those creatures. They were silent killers, and he hated them. They were tamable however; since Rhino's old tribe had several tamed Raptors. He saw something then tear after the Raptor. It looked like a titanic vulture, with a wingspan of 20 feet.

It was an Argentavis, or Giant Vulture. It was actually attacking the Raptor, and James quickly tried to escape the fray. The Raptor came back, being chased by two Argentavis. One of the Giant Vultures grabbed the Raptor and flew away with it. This terrified James most of all, because if it can carry of a Raptor, the vulture could certainly carry him off. The Argentavis that was left looked at James and uttered a horrible guttural squawking scream. James looked for anything he could hide under. There was a rock, but the Argentavis may be able to reach in and grab him with its razor sharp talons. He decided to fight. He always took some kind of a weapon, and this time he had his stone hatchet, which he used. The Argentavis came over, and James swung with his hatchet. The bird screeched and it stretched out its featherless pink head. James swung at it, and the vulture screamed and flew off, causing a mild whirlwind from its broad wings.

Returning to Ark Village after his encounter with the Argentavis, he saw some activity on the beach. There were three Triceratops all ganging up on a Carnotaurus. The Carnotaurus was being absolutely minced by the horns all around it, and when the Triceratops all dispersed, James saw the carcass of a very unfortunate Carnotaurus. He harvested the meat and hide, and thanked his generous benefactors, which shook their frilled heads and began browsing on some ferns along the jungle's edge. He was returning to Ark Village when he saw two Dilophosaurs coming at him. Sighing, he started running. He was able to outrun the pesky creatures for only a short distance. He suddenly turned when they got close, raised his arms, and yelled loudly. The Dilophosaurs, without glancing back, headed for the hills. James shook his head. It was getting quite dark. The sun was nearing the horizon, and he decided to quickly head back to Ark Village before it got too dark. That's when the predators came out, and there were way too many of them on this island. He gathered his things, and started off.

After escaping the Dilophosaurs he was just inside Ark Village's gates when he heard a whisper. It was dusk, and dark enough to where James couldn't quite make out where or who said it.

He looked around, "Hello?"

Coming out of the shadows was Shira. James was surprised.

"Shira." he said, "What is it?"

She looked at the ground. "Thank you."

Before James could reply, she disappeared, but she had said all she needed to say, and James fell asleep that night with a light heart.


	5. Chapter 5: Clive the Dodo

Chapter 5

Clive the Dodo

James went out late one night to harvest some Coelacanth. He had learned that the really big ones came out at night, and he was going fishing for some. As he went down to the beach, he passed a Parasaurolophus, which, when it saw James, bellowed and lazily moved to another feeding spot. James was startled when the Parasaurolophus bellowed and crashed away. He got out his spear and torch and saw what it was. It was a Saber-toothed Cat! James yelled, and decided to fight. He got the cat in front of him, bearing its huge white fangs. He yelled, and stabbed the air in front of it with his spear. The Smilodon roared mightily, and crouched. James knew this could only mean one thing: a pounce. He hunched over, and got his spear, intending to throw it at the cat. When it lunged, roaring with red eyes, he threw the spear. It met its mark, and the Smilodon crashed to the ground dead. He breathed heavily. It was his second near death experience with a Smilodon.

He gathered some Coelacanth after the attack, one of which was almost five feet long, and he stored them in the smokehouse to dry. Coelacanth meat was one of the few types of fish meat that could be smoked like pork or beef. It tasted like salmon, but a bit stronger, and James found it quite delicious.

He went out the next morning on a mission: to tame a dodo. He knew that known dodos back home had gone extinct in the 1600's, when people hunted them to death. The type on the island apparently was still alive. He knew from personal experience that dodos were stupid, naïve creatures, and that taming one could be easy. If it was female, it would lay eggs, which would be a source of food, and if it was a male, it could be eaten. He combed the beach for one, and then he saw one.

It was grey, with an orange face. He snuck up to it, getting out his berries. He had seen dodos feast on the purple Mejoberries, which were quite good for humans as well. He had taken a good deal, and thought that hand feeding a dodo wouldn't be too hard. The dodo turned and looked at James. He got out his berries and coaxed the dodo forward. It waddled forward like a huge duck and sniffed the berries, before honking and devouring the handful in James' cupped fingers. The dodo gulped it down, tilting its head up, and then looked back at James, as if asking for more. He got out some more, and it ate those too. A few more handfuls and he tested. He got up and began walking away. The dodo squawked and began following James. It stopped when he stopped, and began walking when he did.

"Yes!" James said, "You shall be named Clive!"

James had no idea where the name came from, but it suited the bird.

Clive kept following James, who chuckled, "Who's a good boy?" said James, "Come on Clive."

And there they went; man and dodo, marching back to Ark Village. This was the village's first tamed dodo. They kept going, until James saw something that took his breath away. Standing on the beach was a gigantic woolly mammoth. It had huge tusks, and was browsing on the berries growing in patches. It bellowed, and took no notice of James or Clive.

The Mammoth was far larger than the Mammoth's from the fossil record. Its tusks were forked, not straight and smooth like normal Mammoth's. James wondered why it was in this tropical climate. It didn't make sense. Mammoths lived in the cold wilds of Siberia, not tropical islands.

Suddenly out of the forest came the most horrifying thing James had ever seen. It was an enormous scorpion, over six feet long, with a stinger the size of a cantaloupe, a huge spine on the end full of paralyzing venom.

There was a giant scorpion known in the fossil record called Pulmonoscorpius, however that was only three feet long, and this was the size of a man! James gasped in shock, and watched as the giant scorpion began attacking the mammoth. The mammoth didn't react in time to prevent a sting to the leg. It trumpeted loudly, before bellowing in rage and bowling the scorpion over with its huge tusks. Not wanting to get involved in the fight, James watched, and Clive ate berries. The mammoth got stung again, and this time, it charged the scorpion, crushing the monstrous arthropod down. It was dead, and James took some of its chitin, which was the creature's hard exoskeleton, which could be made into armor.

He looked down the beach to see yet another Pulmonoscorpius crawling down the sand quite fast. He had heard that some arthropods release pheromones if they're killed, alerting any others nearby to start attacking. The Pulmonoscorpius could obviously do the same. A Pteranodon landed right in front of the monster at the wrong time. The scorpion veered off course to attack the Pteranodon, which saw it at just the right time and flew back into the sky. Confused, the scorpion saw the mammoth, and seeming to remember its mission, made a beeline for it. The scorpion stung the mammoth, which was now loaded with scorpion venom, and bellowing, the mammoth turned around, and using its tusks, flung the scorpion 20 yards down the beach. The creature made horrible squeaking noises that made James' skin crawl.

The scorpion got back on its feet, and scuttled towards the mammoth again. After stinging the mammoth one more time, the huge beast made a trumpet of pain, and collapsed on the ground unconscious. James couldn't bear to see the monster finish off the mammoth, and so he decided to step in. The scorpion had a weak spot in the head, and James got out his knife, and hacked off the scorpion's stinger. The hideous beast convulsed, and made indescribable squeals. James dodged the scorpion's pinchers, and buried his knife in the monster's head, killing it. He breathed a sigh of relief. The mammoth would survive and would wake up in an hour or two. He waited to see if any more scorpions would show up. None did, so he left the mammoth, which ended up waking up just as James was turning to leave.

He returned to the village, who were just as excited to have Clive as James was. It turned out to be a male, but James decided to keep it, in case he ever wanted to breed dodos, which, much later, he would.

The next day he went out and caught two Coelacanths, and collected some berries in the village's never-ending search for food. He decided to go out for a female dodo, and he found out that male dodos had two feathers sticking out of their shoulders, used for show, and females didn't. He only went a short distance from Ark Village when he saw a female dodo. It was completely grey, with a black bill tip and teal wing tips. He got out his Mejoberries and tamed it the same way he tamed Clive. Unfortunately, it decided it didn't like James, and when he turned his back, the dodo waddled off. It went into the thick of the jungle, and James couldn't find it.

He decided to go off and find another one near the beach. As he was going, he heard some growling in the bush. James knew what it was. Running out of the bush were two Dilophosaurus. One was pine green with pink spines, and the other was olive green with yellow spines. James got out his stone pick, and swung, carefully avoiding the Dilophosaurs' faces, so he wouldn't get venom all over his eyes. He dodged the Dilophosaurs, and swung with his pick, not trying to kill them unless he had to. The Dilophosaurs screeched and called, before sprinting away as fast as their legs would carry them. That's what James could never understand about Dilophosaurs. They acted as if they could take on an Apatosaurus, but in the middle of a fight run away as if the devil was attacking them. He followed the beach down a ways, looking for another dodo.

Along the beach, near a small group of Stegosaurus he saw something terrifying. It was the fresh carcass of a Tyrannosaurus rex. When he stabbed it with his knife, fresh blood came out, not clotted. James knew it had to have been killed within the last hour or two. James froze when he heard something rustling in the bushes. It sprung up on top of the T-rex carcass and hissed. It was a Utahraptor. James slowly backed off, but the Raptor wouldn't stop staring at him. he talked quietly while backing off. That's how you treat bears, but Raptors? The Raptor bobbed its head side to side as if evaluating this strange creature. It was light brown with light blue spines on its neck and tail. It wanted the T-rex meat, and was challenging James for it. James backed off, and when he was about 50 feet away, the Raptor began tearing into the carcass, voraciously eating the meat. When the Raptor's back was turned he ran away as fast as he could.

He returned to Ark Village to see Shadow running from two huge Sarcosuchus. James found himself running too. They climbed up a steep rocky hill, where the crocs turned back and slid back into the water.

Shadow looked at James, "They just straight up attacked me! There were two. The one in front saw me but the one behind me didn't see me, but it came anyway."

James shook his head, checked on Clive in his little pen, and waited until the next day to look for another dodo. When he returned to his own house, he decided to form a plan. He, Rhino, and Shadow had all toyed with the idea of building a small base near Lake Lore. As he thought about it, he realized more and more that it really was a great idea. First, they'd be able to build a farm there, and second, it would be a place of solitude where they could tame dinosaurs in relative isolation. He decided to have a meeting with Shadow and Rhino the next day and follow through with the plan.


	6. Chapter 6: Tree Rex Encounter

Chapter 6

Tree Rex Encounter

The light poured in from the small window in James' hut. He packed up the last of the narcoberries he had in his inventory. He was setting out to find a Parasaurolophus to tame. Once he found one, he'd set out with Shadow and Rhino to help tranquilize it. He slung a crude bow and arrow over his shoulder and he opened the door.

It was hot outside, and the tropical sun beamed down on him intensely. He began walking down the beach. His thoughts turned to the mightiest dinosaur he knew of in Ark Island, the Tyrannosaurus. He'd always wanted to tame one, and even more so when Shadow's old tribe had come on emissary with a T-rex. He was coming down the beach when all the sudden he found the Rex. James cautiously approached the beast, keeping out of its way. Suddenly the dinosaur let out a massive roar and suddenly lurched back. It was fighting a Triceratops, who charged the Rex. James watched, awestruck by the spectacle.

The Tyrannosaurus roared and charged forward. The Triceratops bellowed and hunkered down defensively. The Tyrannosaurus lunged and clamped its jaws down on the Triceratops' frill. The Triceratops jerked its head back and forth before the Tyrannosaurus let go, blood dripping down its salivating maw. The Triceratops backed up closer and closer. James tried to turn and run when the Tyrannosaurus whirled around. James was too close to the Rex, and the Triceratops, who was now next to James, spun around. The dinosaur's tail smacked James in the head. He reeled back with the pain exploding in his skull. He was now in the midst of the fight, jammed between a large boulder, and the two battling dinosaurs. The pain cleared enough to him to get back further from the dinosaurs.

"God help me," he mumbled to himself.

Then, the huge tail of the T-rex slammed into him and everything faded away.

He woke up in a large pit. The pain was immense, and he lay back down, breathing heavily. He heard somebody walking to the place where the Rex had fought, but he couldn't hear them, as they were making a dreadful racket earlier.

James cried out, "Help!"

he then saw the person he most wanted to see clamber up to him. It was his friend, Shadow. Shadow took him back to the camp on his Triceratops he had taken.

After wrapping his head in bandages, and taken a healing medicine, James felt better.

"Thanks Shadow," James told him, "Thanks for looking for me. You are a good friend."

"No problem James. What exactly happened?"

"The Triceratops ended up smacking me in the head with its tail, and later the T-rex's tail ended up in my face."

"You're lucky you escaped with your life." said Shadow.

Shadow chuckled and showed James his leg. There was a large scar running down it. James had noticed it before but didn't ask how he got it.

"A Carnotaurus swiped me with its horn when I was about 17 years old. I was doing exactly what you were doing."

James chuckled, "Well, at least you got a scar with your story. All I got was a bruise and a migraine…"

A few days later, James was on the beach, looking at the ocean. There was a large object in the water. When he got a good look at it, he saw it was a shark. He decided to go out to it and get some meat. He swam to it, seeing it wasn't very far out, and the water was shallow. He swam out for a few minutes and came up to it. It was a juvenile Megalodon, and after gathering some raw meat from it, he looked below the surface. A shark was following him. He swam out as fast as he could, dropping the shark meat. The shark turned out to be going for the meat, since it was dripping with blood. He climbed up to the beach, and ran away from the water. One more fishing trip that a Megalodon had ruined.

Later, he returned to base. He got on his Parasaurolophus, Paris, and met McClure, who was building another base for the tribe. It was close to the forest, and they had plans to start a farm there.

He started up some conversation with McClure, "Who is with you?"

"Rhino will be helping there."

"Tell Rhino thank you for the saddle for me."

He patted the saddle on Paris he was riding on. Shadow had been the one that had tamed the Parasaurolophus for James. They were now along the shores of Lake Lore.

McClure looked ahead, "There's a Sarcosuchus up ahead."

James saw it and sighed, "I think we'll be alright, it's attacking a Parasaurolophus now."

They passed it without any trouble.

An hour later they came to the base. It was a partially unfinished wood house. It was on the edge of a steep slope, which melted into the shores of Lake Lore. On the other side was thick woodland, where they had already planted sugarcane plots and berry patches. Mejoberry and Azulberry were the two types planted. McClure had told James to harvest wood, and lots of it. He then headed off towards the lake, to find some tough trees. As he headed down the hill, he was suddenly enraptured by the sight. There was a herd of Triceratops and Stegosaurus in the lower portions of the Lake, feasting on water weed just inside the shore. He smiled, but his smile quickly vanished when he saw the tail of a Sarcosuchus going into the water.

After carefully bypassing the Lake, he got far away from the place the Sarcosuchus had went into, and began using his axe to chop as much wood as he was able. He chopped wood until dark, and then returned to the base to drop it all off. The woodland was dark and mysterious. He could see the base well before he reached it. Rhino and McClure had put campfires all around it. Shadow was there as well. Shadow met him just outside the base.

"Wood?"

"A lot of it!" responded James.

He dropped the wood down outside the entrance to the base. He also retrieved his hammer and chisel from the pack on Paris. He wanted to help, but he wasn't quite as experienced in building as Rhino, who was the tribe's renowned repairman and builder. Although he couldn't make a wooden wall, he did know how to fix a wall with thatch and fiber. Holding the torch in his hand, he looked up at the starry sky, and saw Rhino coming towards him.

"I need some thatch," asked Rhino.

James handed him some thatch.

Rhino looked with a sly look in his eyes, and said, "Here James, you are in charge of placing this part of the wall."

Going towards the back of the structure, he saw a place where a wall was visibly needed. A wooden wall was propped up against the structure.

An hour later, James hammered the last stake into the wall. It was a major achievement for him.

Rhino came by, "I may consider hiring an assistant carpenter."

James chuckled, "Sorry Rhino, you fit the job far better than I would."

Several more hours of building and hammering, and the stars had disappeared back into space, and the first dark blue light of morning was creeping up into the sky. Rhino was talking to himself, an inventory sheet in his powerful hand.

"600 more wood planks for the wall and ceiling…I could get that and Shadow could get some stone. We should have it done in a few more weeks…"

James interrupted Rhino's thoughts. "Are we just making this entire place right now?"

Rhino took one last glance at the sheet and responded, "Probably not all of it but I'd like to get a good portion of it done."

After they all took a rest for several hours, they returned back to the base. James and Shadow both chopped trees down together, lugging off blocks of wood for the base. In the middle of work, James' axe-head broke. After taking an hour to fasten another spare head to the axe, he returned to work.

He met Rhino in the woods, and was just about to chop another tree when Rhino stopped him.

"Stop!" Rhino shouted.

James looked up, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Rhino stated, "We just got enough wood, so save your energy for building."

Then, Rhino disappeared over the hill. James was just turning back to base when he heard loud footsteps coming towards him. Not human footsteps, dinosaur footsteps. But when he saw Rhino's head he sighed. He was riding Paris. Rhino loved dinosaurs, and he had tamed several, but he just couldn't seem to tame the skittish Parasaurolophus.

James yelled, "What're you doing on Paris?"

Rhino laughed, "Paris is the only Parasaurolophus that likes me!"

James knew Rhino was good with animals, and didn't mind Paris being ridden by him.

"Make sure you put him back in the pen when you're done riding!" He called after Rhino.

After going back to the base he found McClure. He hadn't attended the building of the base the day before, he came up riding a Raptor.

"McClure!" shouted James, "a Raptor?!"

McClure had tamed a Raptor while they were building. He named it Sandstorm. It looked amazing. It was tan with an orange stripe running down its side.

McClure, who had a mischievous look on his face said, "I'll help building now."

Rhino came back up with Paris, "You can take him back to the village if you need to; I'll be camping here for the night."

James nodded, thanked Rhino and returned to the forest to get more wood. As he went down to the riverbank, there was a herd of about 15 Parasaurolophus, and Paris went down, feeling quite comfortable around them. James dismounted Paris and began chopping wood. Rhino had asked to chop some more wood for the ceiling, since he needed to draw plans for it. He had plans to build a storage loft in the base building. He had cleared a nice sized portion of the forest, but stacked the wood in a large pile and left it, as Rhino was going to bring one of the Stegosaurs to pull it, since Paris was not quite strong enough. Looking down at Lake Lore, he saw a Stegosaurus there and watched as it lumbered along the shore. Then, he returned back to the base.

The ceiling for the first level, and floor for second was now finished. The back however was left unfinished. He had noticed Shira was becoming more and more happy and contented. He felt as if she was coming around, and he was happy to have helped. After taking a satisfying sigh, he mounted Paris and returned back to Ark Village.


	7. Chapter 7: Taming a Raptor

Chapter 7

Taming a Raptor

A week later, James went up to the base at Lake Lore. He mulled around until nightfall, and after repairing the base a bit, he heard footsteps and looked outside. He saw a Raptor and yelled in surprise, but Rhino came from behind it.

"Got this one yesterday."

James was shocked, "You tamed a Raptor? Is that why you weren't up here yesterday?"

Rhino nodded, "Now McClure won't be able to brag about Sandstorm constantly!"

James laughed. McClure had been a pretty big showoff about Sandstorm, seeing she was the tribe's first tamed Raptor.

"What did you name it?" James asked.

"Batya," responded Rhino.

James looked around in the cabinets. Arrows, bows, and a dodo egg! He'd never seen a dodo egg before. Eggs were extremely scarce where they were. It was white with grey spots and was about the size of a baseball. He went outside and rode around on Paris. He looked in his saddlebags and looked around. Stone picks, berries, and most bizarre, a recipe to make chili.

Rhino had told James he needed some wood for some new walls he would add the base. So he went out and chopped some more trees with his hatchet. It was dawn, and he had slept well last night. He just wanted a Raptor now that everybody else had one it seemed. He went down to the lake shore and collected some stone, which Rhino also needed. He looked across Lake Lore to see Rhino, Shadow and David, another tribe member, chasing after a wild Raptor on their Raptors. David was on his Raptor on the shore James was on. James jogged over to David, who was on his Raptor, Gannet.

"What's going on?" James said, "You guys going after another Raptor?"

David smiled and replied, "We're taming a Raptor for you."

James was speechless. These were the same men who were frightened out of their wits about Raptors when they first came to the island were now taming a Raptor for somebody else.

David looked ahead, "We're doing unto others James, It's tan, a male, has a thick upper jaw. Looks really nice! We scouted it out a few days ago. It stuck to the same routes most days."

James shook David's hand and said, "Thanks David, I really appreciate that! Who's with you? I see Rhino and Shadow."

David looked over, "Rhino and Shadow are with me, McClure didn't show up. The guy's off with Sandstorm exploring the Great Blue Yonder somewhere. Well, I'm off to help, I'll come and get you once we've tranquilized it."

James decided to get some general supplies to help tame a Raptor. He knew he would need narcoberries. These berries packed a dizzying punch. When eaten, and some Ark tribe members found this out the hard way, they cause a dizziness fit before causing the consumer to fall down unconscious for a while. If consumed in large amounts it was deadly. They were black, and about the size of a grape. They were also the main ingredient for narcotics, which were sedatives that would knock out the thing that consumed it.

James searched for some so he could give it to the Raptor. He would smear some on the tip of an arrowhead to make it a tranquillizer dart. James looked back to the opposite shore. He didn't see any of the men. He looked down his beach and all he saw was an Ankylosaurus about 200 yards down. He never trusted Ankylosaurs. They'd leave you alone if you returned the favor, but if you got in their way they'd turn into wrecking balls that held some serious grudges.

David came over by himself.

"We got it!" he said excitedly.

James ran over and saw a tranquilized Raptor on the ground. It looked just like how David had described it. it was a beautiful Raptor, with a broad upper jaw and spines along its neck and tail. James couldn't help laughing excitedly.

David bent down and looked at it, "We have to be sure it's settled down before we wake it up. Don't wake it up OK?" he smiled.

David got back up and looked at James, then the Raptor.

"You tranquilize it, and then when it wakes up you blow on this Raptor call. If you blow a certain way it will basically tell the Raptor you're a friend, and that you're the pack leader."

David showed James how to do that call, which had a haunting sound to it. Raptors are extremely intelligent, and this one was going to wake up soon, so James went and fed it a few more narcoberries.

"Keep giving it narcotics, and if you run out," David said, "then go back and collect some more of those narcoberries."

The Raptor lifted up its head dizzily, and looked like it was chewing something, before its eyes rolled back into its head, and it fell back asleep. It was normal for an animal to wake up for a few seconds when affected by the narcoberries.

David told James he had to leave, and James replied, "Don't worry I'll watch him, I'm not letting this one go!"

David gave James a friendly slap on the back before mounting Gannet and riding off. James was now alone. He looked at the Raptor call in his hand. David had described the call as, enchanting, or seductive, and that it had trained all the other Raptors in the tribe. Hopefully this Raptor would be tamed the same way.

After about 10 minutes the Raptor was still sound asleep, and James saw three tribemates coming towards him on their Raptors.

"I'll be there soon," James thought to himself.

It was Shadow, Rhino and David. Rhino came up on Batya, Shadow on Ronen, and David on Gannet. They had come to see how things were coming along.

Rhino asked, "What's the name of your Raptor?"

"I don't know. I'll think of one when I tame it."

he looked at his friend's Raptors. Ronen was green, Gannet was a fierce red-orange, and Batya was a deep red.

James chuckled, _'This is like comparing cars.'_ he thought to himself.

James was wandering through the bush to collect more narcoberries. He found stimberries, tintoberries, amarberries, and azulberries, but no narcoberries. James kept thinking of a name. He wasn't sure what kind of name would work. They either sounded too crazy or too cliched. He went back to the Raptor, still sleeping on the dirt. He kept looking at his friend's Raptors, knowing he'd soon have his own, but staring at his friend's "corvettes" was just too tempting. He liked Ronen, the name and the Raptor. Why couldn't he think of a name?

He went back to the bush for another go at looking for narcoberries. All his thoughts were consumed with how awesome he'd look on top of a Raptor, blazing through the bush as fast as a Raptor could go, which was quite fast.

He went back down to the Raptor, and everybody had left. He thought he'd lost the Raptor for a second, but found him. There was a bush right in the Raptor's face. James removed it and could see the Raptor's head more clearly. It began to rain. He kept looking at the Raptor. It should wake up soon. He wanted to bring his hide boots since his cloth ones were nearly worn out, but the base was quite a distance away on foot, and he didn't want to leave the Raptor.

After another half hour David came back on Gannet carrying something big in his hands. He dropped it down at James' feet. It was a Raptor saddle. James looked excited, thanked David for the saddle and carefully put it on the Raptor with David's help. David hung around for a few more minutes.

James joked, "I'm getting the feeling you don't trust me with this Raptor!"

David laughed and kept looking at it. "It should wake up real soon. We may have given it a touch too many narcoberries."

He kept looking for more narcoberries. He needed more in case things got out of hand when the Raptor woke up. He looked down the beach and saw Rhino and David talking on their Raptors. They were quite a distance away. He was interrupted from his thoughts when the Raptor woke up.

He fumbled for his Raptor caller. The Raptor looked at him and hissed. James blew the call out. This startled the Raptor, who then listened intently. James finished the call and waited to see what would happen. The Raptor's neck spines bristled. Then, the Raptor got on all fours, and laid down on the ground. James reached out and touched the Raptor. It didn't flinch, it actually growled similar to a cat purring. James laughed quietly. He suddenly saw its name come in his head as if through a revelation.

"I'm going to name you Barry!"

The Raptor simply hissed and stood up. James tried mounting. The Raptor surprisingly offered up no resistance. He then spurred it forward towards where Rhino and David were. They both cheered as Barry sprinted up the hill.

They all returned to the base at Lake Lore happily, with a new dinosaur to add to the tribe. They all had a feast that night in celebration of James' new Raptor. James went riding for the rest of the next day, as he returned to Ark Village. When he arrived, he met Shira on her own mount: a Carnotaurus! The large horned Theropod roared as James approached. Shira grinned and laughed on her new mount.

"How did you tame it?!" shouted James.

"I tamed it myself. James, I'm very good around animals, how are giant scary reptiles any different?"

James huffed. It was whitish green, and very pretty to look at.

What's it's name?"

"Her names is Shullershy."

James nodded, "Good name. I like it."

Shira looked at James' Raptor, "And your new mount?"

"His name is Barry."

Shira raised an eyebrow, "Why Barry?"

James shrugged, "It hit me as a good name."

Shira shook her head. "Well I have to get a Raptor too."

"Well I know how to tame one. Why don't we go out and find you one."

Shira nodded, smiled and said, "That sounds like a good idea James, let's go."


	8. Chapter 8: Taming a T-Rex

Chapter 8

Taming a T-Rex

James woke up, refreshed and ready. It was 5:00 in the morning, and he mounted Paris, and headed for the base at Lake Lore. He got there a few hours into the afternoon. There were several people there. Rhino was there, and so was Shira, who actually smiled when James approached, a trend that James was very happy to see. Rhino looked at the water through his spyglass he had crafted.

"Arrgh, I can see a ship!" he said, in such a terrible pirate accent James laughed.

"That's your pirate accent?!" `

Rhino chuckled, "Here James, take this, you may need it."

He handed James a fine bow, and a quiver of arrows.

Taming a T-rex won't be easy."

Ever since James had almost died by the T-rex being attacked by a Triceratops, he had wanted to tame one. This was his chance. James looked at the arrows.

"Who made these?" he asked.

"McClure made them. He won't be coming today."

James had brought his Raptor, Barry, and Rhino brought his, Batya. He entered the base where Rhino was looking in the supply cabinets in the downstairs section. He was going through all the supplies they would need. There was some stuff in the cabinet James wasn't expecting. A dodo egg, and as he rummaged around, he pulled out the skeletal arm of a Tyrannosaurus, which startled him.

"Rhino," said James with a disturbed voice, "What do you have a T-Rex arm for!?"

Rhino chuckled and shrugged. Answer enough.

A bit later, Shadow arrived with his Raptor, Ronen. Shadow asked the goal, and Rhino explained the plan to tame a T-rex. James then ambled around, going down the hill, and looking at the base from the bottom of the hill, up at the soft glow of the firelight. Shadow came down to join him.

"Ready?" asked Shadow.

"Very." replied James, eager to see what a tamed T-Rex could do.

When the two of them returned to Base, Shira was busy making clothes, as some of the men's clothes had been completely soiled. The two of them were alone in the room.

"Shira," said James, "When you told me thank you by the village gate, what were you thanking me for?"

She looked up, her black hair seeming to flicker in the light of the torches.

"For letting me see." she said, "I was so absorbed in self-pity I couldn't go on. You woke me up. It was just that I felt so alone here. Even back at the ESC I felt alone. There was just some things that had happened in my life...Things i don't even want to revisit. But you really helped me James, whether you realized it or not."

James was satisfied. "Look what we've built here Shira. We're going to make it. Heck, we have made it."

Shira laughed quietly, looking at the partially repaired clothing on her lap. It helped James to know he had helped her.

She looked back up at James, "When are you going out?"

James sighed, "Tomorrow morning, the Tyrant will be ours."

Shira raised an eyebrow, "And what makes you so sure?"

James held up their secret weapon. "This."

When morning came, James mounted Barry and went to get some meat. There was a single red Parasaurolophus on the beach, and Barry screeched loudly and tapped his sickle toe claw into the sandy shores of Lake Lore. The Parasaurolophus honked loudly and ran off. Barry went into attack mode, and chased after his prey. James knew to dismount when a Raptor went in for the kill. After a brief struggle, Barry killed the Parasaurolophus, and James whistled Barry back. Barry stood by while James cut out the edible parts. While James was hacking away on the carcass of the Parasaurolophus Barry nudged James.

"Just wait there sir, a little later and you can eat all you want."

Back at the base, Paris was browsing on some low branches, and Barry, who had eaten his fill, was tied up beside Ronen. He then entered the base building, and climbed up on top of the roof, where the crafting table was. He built some wooden wall parts. Rhino had asked for two for the base, and since Rhino had taught him how to make walls, he built them, and placed them around the roof.

They still had to build around what was now the roof and make a ceiling for that as well. Once that was complete, it would be a two story structure. He had been working on it for so long he didn't realize Rhino, Shira, and Shadow had left. He saw their footsteps in the beach heading west. He jumped on Barry and followed them. When he met up with them, he saw them hiding in the bush. Shadow motioned for James to be quiet and slow. James didn't need long to see why. A large Tyrannosaurus was crashing through the forest. This was it. This was the T-rex they would tame.

After getting into position, Shadow, who was the resident dinosaur expert, explained how to tame a Tyrannosaur.

"You must train it to respect you," he began, "shoot it with an arrow treated with this secretion. It causes extreme pain. The pain isn't fatal though. The T-Rex is a pretty smart dinosaur. If it sees you shooting it with the arrow, it will associate you with extreme pain. This will guarantee the monster not eating you. Next, train the T-rex to accept a saddle. Feed the T-rex meat after training it to respect you. This will get the Rex to associate you with an incoming meal. Then, after all this is done, it will eventually become loyal. I'm very curious to see all we can accomplish with one."

The T-Rex shook its massive head and let out a low guttural growl.

Rhino moved in with his bow and arrow. He tipped it with the treated arrowhead, and then gave some of the arrows to James. Rhino bravely yelled out, alerting the T-Rex to his whereabouts. The Tyrannosaurus looked in their direction and roared a bone shaking roar. Rhino loosed his arrow, which sent the T-Rex reeling back in pain. The T-rex screamed, falling on the ground. After getting up, the thoroughly enraged T-rex went for Rhino, who loosed another arrow, sending the T-rex doubling over again.

Rhino shouted to James, "Shoot it with your arrow! Don't touch the arrowhead!"

James loosed and the arrow hit the T-rex, who lunged back at the searing pain. They stopped. The Tyrannosaur, who wasn't fully grown at 30 feet, was an adolescent, as Shadow had said juveniles were much easier to tame. The T-rex roared and looked at the two men. James had Barry if anything went wrong, and Shadow had brought his Triceratops. The T-rex stared, but didn't attack, cowering slightly. This was going very well.

A few days later, the process was completed. They now had a tamed Tyrannosaurus in their tribe. James returned to the base, where the Tyrannosaurus was kept. They had named it Tyros. James decided to sleep at the base. It had been a long day, and he didn't want to travel another few hours to the village. The base was empty. Nobody was there; he was alone. He lay down in the bed and slept.

He awoke when rain began falling outside. It was only about 2:00 in the morning and still very dark. He went outside. It was a light sprinkle. Taking a torch in his hand he saw Barry and Paris were still outside, with Tyros chained up to a huge tree, sleeping. He looked towards another tree and saw a green Raptor. It was Ronen, Shadow's Raptor. He didn't want to shout, for fear of waking up Tyros.

Although Tyros was tamed, he was still unpredictable at this stage. He may kill a man if startled, which would eventually wear off when he got used to being around people. Once again he looked up at the sky, but tonight there were no stars, just a dark cloud.

He remembered that night with Shira. It was the first time he had seen Shira happy. He sighed. Shira had been up at the base occasionally, though she never stayed overnight there, or camped there.

He never found Shadow, but he was out there somewhere.

Heading back in the house, he drank from the cistern in the back, and went upstairs. While James, Rhino and Shadow were taming Tyros, McClure and Shira had been continuing work on the base building. James took the ladder up, and looked around. The ceiling still needed to be built, but the upstairs wall was complete. They also must've eaten upstairs, as there was a campfire on a flat stone, with a cooking pot. He also saw that they had walled off another room, with a door leading to it. He entered and saw something he was very excited about. There was a large stone brick oven, with smoking coals still inside. There were also several storage cabinets, and when he looked inside he saw jerky, and other food items. So this was to be their kitchen. In the one cabinet however, there were clothes; probably the clothes Shira had made last week. Suddenly, he heard a loud bellow, and men yelling.

Running into the forest with a torch in his hand James wondered if Tyros had gotten out of hand. But the bellow didn't sound like a T-rex's; more like a Triceratops' when he thought about it. After running about 2,000 yards from base, he saw Rhino and Shadow, and David proudly looking over an unconscious Triceratops.

"What did you do?" asked James.

"We tranquilized it and now we're keeping it," said Shadow.

James was grateful that a Triceratops wasn't hard to train; it simply needed to be taught to bear a saddle and that was it. Rhino and Shadow looked it over. It was quite big. Not an enormous one, but a big one nonetheless.

"Go ahead back to the base James," Rhino said, "We can cover taming this thing."

James went back to the base, looking forward to seeing Rhino struggle to put a saddle on the beast.

The next morning James went out to ride on Barry for a bit. The Raptor hissed contentedly when he saw his master coming. Although Raptors are deadly when wild, when tamed they're as loyal as hound dogs. He unleashed the Raptor, mounted, and went down to the shores of Lake Lore. They were barren of life, quite rare for the lake, usually exploding with Triceratops' or Stegosaurs. The animals were probably all scared off by Tyros. There was however, an Apatosaurus in the distance, which he decided to go towards. Suddenly, he saw a Dilophosaurus cross their path. The spines on Barry's neck bristled and he growled. The Dilophosaurus screeched and ran towards Barry, who made short work of the little nuisance.

James patted Barry on the neck, "Good boy," he said.

Barry shook his head and they continued on. About two miles down they saw a group of three Apatosaurs. He saw what looked like a T-Rex, and decided to get a bit closer to the action, but not too close, as a misaimed swipe from the tail of an Apatosaurus could be fatal. It was what he suspected: a huge Tyrannosaurus going after an Apatosaurus. The T-rex roared and tried to bite the Apatosaurus' side. The Sauropod swiped with its tail narrowly missing the T-rex's head. The T-rex roared and continued trying to attack. Suddenly the Apatosaurus swung again, and slammed its gigantic tail into the Tyrannosaurus' face. The T-rex almost did a backflip before crashing into the ground, dead.

James watched as the Apatosaurus' lumbered away. He decided to harvest the T-rex, as some T-rexes had prime meat on them. Prime meat is tastier, and healthier than regular meat. This T-rex had some prime meat on it. He couldn't harvest the whole thing, so he returned to the base and told Rhino and Shadow that a T-rex was downed a few miles down the Lake. The three men went out, after getting Shira and McClure to help. David had also come. He very rarely showed up, and James had only seen him a few times after getting stranded.

Later, they returned to base with enough meat and hide to last them for months. David went to the base with James, and they both noticed something odd. The front of the base had been painted blue. However, when he looked closer, the paint wasn't really paint, it was more like lumpy slat marks all over the building.

James wondered aloud, "Why was it painted blue? When did that happen?"

David shrugged his shoulders, and looked at it. "The only way to get blue paint is to get blue dye from those azulberries."

When Shadow and the others returned, Shadow explained that he had painted it blue so it was easier to see.

James chuckled, "So you didn't really paint it you just slapped berries on it? Does this count as vandalism?"

The next day he heard a huge commotion near the base. It was Rhino, Shadow and David all yelling orders at Tyros. They were training it to smash through trees and rocks, in case they ever needed to do it. Tyros roared just as James came up, and a huge boulder exploded into pieces. James yelled, startled, and jumped back. He was riding Barry. James decided to watch at a distance. They were at the forest edge, a mile or so from base.

"Is he just destroying everything?" James yelled.

Shadow, who had jogged up to where he was panted, "Pretty much…he just won't do what we ask. We tell him to bash one rock and he goes to another. We still have a lot of work to do."

James looked back at the spectacle in front of him. There seemed like a perfect riot was going on in the jungle. He chuckled as the comedy of it all started to sink in. Here were four little people angry because one of the greatest predators to ever walk the earth wasn't doing their bidding. It was a mouse yelling at the cat scenario if there ever was one.

Shadow looked at him, "What's so funny?"


	9. Chapter 9: Cold Blooded Murder

Chapter 9

Cold Blooded Murder

The water sparkled like silver coins in the sunlight. James mopped his forehead and looked over to the opposite side of Lake Lore, where he saw an Apatosaurus across the lake, stomping around, eating leaves. That's what he wanted to tame. They had a Triceratops, they each had a Raptor, and they had a Stegosaurus. They even had a Tyrannosaurus. The only thing really lacking was a Sauropod or a Pterosaur.

He heard that a gigantic Pterosaur called Quetzalcoatlus, lived on the island. While the species known from the fossil record had a 40 foot wingspan, this type had a wingspan and body size of a jumbo jet. There were mammoths, and dinosaurs still undiscovered. He wanted to see them all. He heard rumors passed around by other people about new dinosaurs; Kaprosuchus a small land crocodile, Giganotosaurus a huge Theropod even bigger than T-rex, Baryonyx, a smaller relative of Spinosaurus and others. But none of these had yet been found.

They had built an irrigation pipe down to the lake from the base building, so that water could pool up in the building. You turned on a tap in the building, which sent up water from the lake. He walked back up to the base building with a load of berries and walked off to see how the Triceratops was doing. They had captured one less than 48 hours before, in the middle of the night. They were trying to put a saddle on it. It was knocked out, and the saddle was on its back. When it woke up, it would have to be trained to bear a rider. It was already tamed, and this was the hardest stage.

It was still dark, but getting towards morning, the first dark blue light of day was seeping into the night sky. He mounted Barry and went off to check on Tyros. He wasn't quite as unpredictable, and wouldn't fly off the handle at a sudden noise. He simply looked at James while lying on the ground. After smelling the air he lay back down and closed his eyes. After a few dim hours, morning bloomed, and James checked on the Triceratops. It was officially tamed, as Rhino was riding it.

He went up to Rhino, "How is it working out?"

Rhino looked over at James, "Oh it's going great here. We need to get you a Triceratops sometime! All you got is that Parasaur, a Dodo and a Raptor."

James nodded, "Well that's really all I need. I was thinking about trying to tame an Apatosaur earlier. We don't really have any giant dinosaurs like that."

Rhino mulled it over, "I'll ask Shadow if he's heard of any taming methods for those kinds of animals."

They talked over a bit more before James left Rhino to finish his work.

Tyros had gotten untied. He didn't wander, since he was now a loyal mount. Tyros would kill anything trying to hurt James or any of the tribe's members. James even patted Tyros' nose, where a wild T-rex would eat you without a second thought. Tyros was following James. Deciding to have a little fun, he walked around the base building. He was in awe of how one of the most feared apex predators in history would follow a man like him around like a puppy. Suddenly Tyros' stopped and wheeled around, looking at the tree line. Suddenly he and Batya rushed into the forest. Rhino must've whistled from inside the forest. David came out of the base building, wondering what the ruckus was about. A T-rex charging into the forest is no small noise. Rhino was in the woods and he had whistled. He looked over at the Raptors. They were in the stable attached to the base building: Barry, Ronen, Gannet and Sandstorm. Batya was in the forest with Rhino. Suddenly Batya came racing past, and Tyros was taking up the rear. Rhino came running out of the forest.

James went up to Rhino, "What happened?"

"A pack of Raptors were attacking me. Tyros got there just in the nick of time!"

James decided to go get some resources on Paris. He went and collected some berries. Down near the beach, he met McClure, David and Shadow all trying to train Trike, the new Triceratops, to down trees. He saw it topple over a pine tree. That would save a lot of energy and time chopping down trees. Now all they'd have to do would be to chop the already felled tree into burnable logs.

He walked over to where they were training. They would direct the Triceratops towards a tree, then shout a command and the Triceratops would ram into the tree and topple it, sometimes in several attempts. A Triceratops was extremely strong, and when it set its mind on something, it would see it through! Rhino was very pleased with it.

James came over to Rhino, who waved.

"How are things going?" asked James.

"About as well as they could! Man, this thing it strong!"

Right then the Triceratops slammed its skull into another tree, bellowing and roaring. Rhino and James both stepped back.

McClure shook his head, "I'm throwing away my axe!" he said.

Shadow laughed, "Go tame your own! Sandstorm can only do so much."

McClure raised an eyebrow, "But he can do enough!"

Rhino rolled his eyes. "There are so many dinosaurs in the island what's so special about Sandstorm?"

Sandstorm was McClure's pride and joy, and he rode him everywhere. He didn't have any other tamed dinosaurs that he knew of. The tree crashed to the ground, which is when Rhino called off Trike. Then they broke out the axes and began hacking away at the wood and cutting them into logs.

James went back to Ark Village for the week. And then the next week he headed back to Lake Lore. When he got back, he met Rhino. There were two Triceratops' now. One was named Alison according to Rhino. One of the Triceratops they had almost tamed, but it got in a fight with a Stegosaurus and they never saw it again. There was also a Pteranodon in the stables.

' _Yes!'_ James thought to himself.

Now he could soar above the island, making exploration much easier. Rhino had named it Sky-dancer. After a few hours, Rhino went to bed, and Shadow did too.

When he went into his own bunk, he saw somebody in his desk writing something. He could only see the silhouette of the person against the flickering torchlight. He slowly went in and knocked. It was Shira.

James walked in and Shira smiled, "What are you doing here?"

Shira would occasionally come up to the base, but so far she hadn't stayed overnight for more than three nights. James was confused. What was she doing in his bunk?

She looked down, embarrassed, "You're the only one with a desk in his bunk, I was just writing a letter to my dad."

"You've been writing letters to him here?"

Shira nodded, "It gives me a little bit of home to think about."

James nodded. He could tell that she had been very close to her father.

She looked somber, "I miss him."

James understood. He put his arm around her.

Shira blushed, "I'm trying to come to terms with the fact I may never see him again." she said.

James sighed, "I'm sorry Shira."

There was a long pause.

James got up, "You can use my desk whenever you want to. I don't really even use it. I can move it into your bunk."

Shira shook her head, "Oh no it's yours I don't want-"

"Please." interrupted James, "I want you to take it. I really never use it."

Shira smiled slightly, "Alright James. Thank you, really. I appreciate that a lot."

He moved it into her bunk before saying goodnight. James didn't look behind as he left, but he could tell Shira had watched him go longer than she had before.

The next morning he headed out to David's base just across Lake Lore. It was on top of a cliff you could access from going behind and around. He got Barry out of the stable and they went out to check on him. They crossed the lake and James quickly filled up his water-skin. They climbed up the hill, and knocked on the wooden door. David wasn't home. Oh well, he usually explored in his spare time. When they went back down to Lake Lore James thought he saw something in the water, thrashing around. Then it stopped thrashing and the water stilled. When it bobbed up James realized it was a Pteranodon. It must've drowned.

Sometimes a Pteranodon will try to catch fish in the water, but splashes into the lake. Since it needs a solid takeoff surface, it may drown, encumbered by its huge wings. This must've been what happened to this unfortunate one. James let Barry drag it onto land. He took some of the hide on the wings, which could be useful. He also took some of the meat for Barry or the other Raptors to eat.

When he got back to the camp, Barry's neck spines bristled. As anybody with a tamed Raptor knows, when it bristles its spines, it's mad, and you'd better get out of its way! He dismounted and Barry flew into the camp, tangling with a Dilophosaurus. The pest bounded away and Barry bounded after it, but James whistled him back and he came up to the camp trotting. Tyros was still chained up to the tree and James threw him some of the Pteranodon meat and the Tyrannosaurus snapped it up. James entered the base after returning Barry to the stable. He ate some jerky and looked if anybody else was in. Rhino and Shira were both sleeping in their quarters. Taking an afternoon nap James supposed.

He decided to go exploring on Barry. He ran along the beach of Lake Lore and came upon a herd of Stegosaurs. One of them was lashing its spiked tail at a predator. Suddenly the predator flew backwards, obviously hit by one of the Stegosaurs. When he got closer he saw it was a Carnotaurus.

"Huh, got a little to close the action." James said.

He took some of the meat from it, and its horns as a trophy. There was also a small thatch base near the herd. It was just along the beach, and totally abandoned. The owners were either killed, or they had just moved on to greener pastures. There were also Ankylosaurs in the herd, like wildebeest in a herd of zebras. He looked inside the base, but nothing was there. It was utterly deserted. He wondered who built it, and if they were still alive. He didn't know how many other humans lived on this island. The only other tribe they knew of was the Dino Raiders, and they were a hostile tribe for whatever James could see.

He went back to Ark Village and while there he saw one of the villagers named Robert come towards him.

James saw him in the court, "Hello Robert," he said.

Robert told James to come closer. James noted he had a wild look in his eye.

"James," he said, "I found something very special near the Red Cliffs."

James got interested, "What is it?"

Robert said in a low voice, "I found emeralds! They're in a cave near the Red Cliffs!"

He held up one under his cloak. James' eyes widened and he nodded.

"Tonight, at midnight, we can gather the rest," Robert said with giddiness in his voice.

That night he crossed Lake Lore, and entered the forest. It wasn't a jungle, but a deciduous wood, with broad-leaved trees. He was riding Barry, and along the forest floor he saw a glint in the moonlight. He got off Barry, stooped down and scratched at the leaf litter. He picked up a shining green gem. It was an emerald! James quickly pocketed the stone, and saw Barry run after a Triceratops. James whistled sharply for Barry to come back, not at all wanting to fight a Triceratops. Barry obeyed and the Triceratops ran into the darkness of the wood. The moon was exceptionally bright, which is why Robert had planned to come out this particular night.

A few hours later he heard a roar close behind them. It was another Carnotaurus. James yelled in terror and spurred Barry on, who sprinted as fast as he could. Luckily, the Carnotaurus didn't follow, and they continued on. He had reached the meeting point, near was the mouth of the cave, which Robert had given the coordinates to. There were several Stegosaurs near the cave mouth grazing close to Barry and James. James got out of their way and waited. Robert wasn't there quite yet, so he stayed put. When Barry's spines bristled on the back of his head and he uttered a low growl James got very uneasy.

He patted Barry on the side of the head, "Easy Barry, easy…don't attack yet."

There was nothing. With a tremendous crash a Carnotaurus burst into the night. It was attacking one of the Stegosaurs. The Stegosaurus bellowed and swung its thagomizer spikes into the air, but it missed the Carnotaurus. James was thrown off Barry as the Stegosaurus swung its massive tail. Barry let out a scream and James stood up to see what happened. Barry had leapt onto the Carnotaurus and was ripping at its thick hide. The horned creature roared and swung its head, but couldn't reach Barry. James stood back, and a Stegosaurus swiped the Carnotaurus, and hit, sending the creature reeling back. But Barry was hit too. The Raptor went sailing into the air before slamming into a boulder. Barry shrieked in pain and collapsed on the ground.

The Carnotaurus was down, and so was Barry. The Stegosaurs all rumbled away, leaving James alone with Barry. He stooped down. Barry was breathing heavily. His ribcage was uneven and broken. James saw that the worst had happened.

"Easy boy...Easy," James said softly.

Barry groaned and laid his head down on the ground. James, with trembling hands removed his bridle and harness. Barry looked up at James and uttered a heart wrenching low howl. A tear formed in James' left eye. This was it. He watched as the last breath left his companion. Breaking down, James hunched over, and cried.

After burying his Raptor in the cool mossy dirt, he turned and began making back for Ark Village. He sobbed most of the way, grieving for his dead companion, who had died trying to save James' life. The Stegosaurus had hit Barry in the ribcage with its spines, trying to hit the Carnotaurus. James didn't bother thinking over the "what-if" questions. They didn't serve a useful purpose on this island. He didn't bother waiting for Robert, and he didn't care either way.

He saw the distant silhouette of Ark Village in the foreground when he saw a person on a Raptor riding towards him. He was near the cliffs where David's base was. He watched as the person strode towards him on his Raptor. James looked at the man. He threw down a pile of wood on the ground. James was confused, but he left the wood alone, and continued down to Ark Village.

Suddenly, the man yelled, "Hey! Get back here!"

there was a very angry tone in his voice. What could he be mad at him for? The man and his Raptor charged at James. James, who happened to be carrying his stone hatchet, took it out, and faced the man. He didn't offer any explanation, but he ordered his Raptor to kill James.

"What?!" James yelled, "Sir, why?! Why?! I'm friendly towards you!"

The man kept circling James, trying to get his Raptor to attack him. James dodged the Raptor and held his hatchet up threateningly.

"What are you doing!? If you want me to kill your Raptor I will!"

James was angry, frightened, and confused at the same time. He had just lost a friend, why was this person doing this! What had he done?

James tried intimidation, "I have a T-rex in my tribe. If you lay a hand on me, I or my friends will come with our T-rex and attack you."

That made no difference to the man.

James tried to get information from the man, "Who are you?!"

the man replied, "Hijikata, from the Dino Raiders tribe. You'll be sorry you did this!"

James was in the dark about the foul deed he had supposedly committed, but at least he knew this person's name, and the tribe he was from. He looked Japanese, with black hair, and a scar on his eyebrow. His Raptor came up and leapt on top of James. James was pinned under its weight and couldn't reach his hatchet. He was about to be killed by Hijikata when another Raptor bowled Hijikata's over. It was Shadow, on Ronen. Shadow attacked the enemy Raptor mercilessly, and drove it away. Hijikata was also pinned by Shadow.

Hijikata glared at James, "I don't understand."

What? What was there not to understand?

He continued, "You stole my wood."

James hadn't touched the man's wood, and he was confused exactly what the man meant. They let him go, which turned out to be a bad choice later. And as he'd see later, the Dino Raiders were more of a threat than James could have ever thought.

When he returned to Ark Village, everybody felt sorry for James. They had all loved Barry just as much as James did. They held a little kind of funeral, though James felt badly he put some of the villagers in a sad frame of mind, though it touched him that the village cared about him so much. Shadow, Rhino and Shira all offered their condolences, but later that night, the village met to discuss the meeting with Hijikata. He wasn't finished with Hijikata. He decided to get a posse, as Shadow, Rhino, David and the others were thoroughly outraged by this stranger's murder attempt. No…things were not over with the Dino Raiders.


	10. Chapter 10: Reckoning Time

Chapter 10

Reckoning Time

Just outside the base at Lake Lore James, Rhino and Shadow had gathered. They were there to track down the lunatic that had almost murdered James in cold blood.

Rhino was outraged and puzzled by the story, "So he almost murdered you because he thought you stole his wood?"

James nodded, "I don't think that's why he went after me. He knew I didn't touch it, that was just what he said when you showed up. I get the feeling there's something more sinister about this person."

Rhino continued, "I don't like this. They aren't all that far away from the village anyway. That maniac could come and murder anybody he pleased if he gets daring enough."

Shadow spoke, "I came to your rescue when I saw him attacking you from the base. I didn't have to look that far. I mounted Ronen, came over and saved you in the nick of time."

James shook his head, "No…we have to deal with this. He said he was from the Dino Raiders tribe. The same people that attacked you and Shadow way back when Ark Village was first founded."

Rhino and Shadow looked at each other. They both had lived on the island for much longer and knew all too well of this tribe.

James looked at both of them, "Who exactly are the Dino Raiders? I know you've mentioned that they're a warring tribe but where did they come from?"

"The Dino Raiders were once members of our old tribe," Rhino said, "They were just like the rest of us, but there was one named Apollo, named after the Greek god, who wanted to become a warring tribe. Apollo gathered men, and broke off from our tribe, becoming a warring tribe. They've raided the Rockarts multiple times in the past. They are a deadly tribe. I understand a bit more now that I know what tribe he's from."

They all agreed. It was time for some business with the Dino Raiders.

They each set out on their Raptors, James was riding Gannet, David's Raptor, and Rhino was riding Batya. Shadow came up the rear riding Ronen.

Shadow asked again, "So where are we going? Where's he at?"

James pointed slightly southeast, "He went into the forest and I scouted it out a bit yesterday. He has a house in a field near the place he attacked me at."

They walked through the forest, keeping their eyes peeled. For all they knew the Dino Raiders may have had an ambush set up. There was little signs of life. All was quiet. Soon, they came out of the forest and into a clearing.

There was a large, dark grey cloud brooding in the near horizon. It just so happened to be above the Dino Raider's base. The posse approached. Was anybody in? James, Rhino and Shadow cautiously stalked up to the base, keeping a low profile. When they looked at the house, a man came out of the house.

"It's Hijikata!" James hissed.

They formulated a strategy.

James began, "Look, don't kill anybody unless you have to. I will deal with Hijikata. We'll take any resources we can raid from their base. If somebody tries to kill you, defend yourselves. I don't care about anybody else, I just want Hijikata."

Suddenly a man tore out of the house.

James yelled, "Hey! He's going behind the cliff! Get him!"

Rhino yelled and Shadow whooped as they rushed after the man. It didn't take long for the three to corner the man with their Raptors. James gritted his teeth. it wasn't Hijikata. The three Raptors were hunched, ready to pounce, tapping their sickle toe claws into the ground. The man stood his ground and pulled a spear from behind his back.

"Why are you trying to kill me?!"

"What's your name?" James demanded.

The man's eyes darted back and forth.

"I know who you're looking for. Hijikata isn't here. He has orders from Apollo."

He stabbed the air with his spear, "Leave me be or I will kill your Raptors."

The man stabbed the air close to Batya, who hissed, her neck spines bristling. Suddenly the man lunged forward, trying to spear Batya in the heart. The Raptor leapt out of the way. Shadow whistled sharply, and Ronen screeched, lunged, and bit down on the man's spear. The man tried to hold on, but the Raptor jerked it out of his hands before biting it in half. Shadow whistled again and Ronen jumped, pinning the man down without hurting told Rhino to bind him and leave him.

"Leave him here, we're looking for his friend." Shadow said darkly.

They returned to the Dino Raider base after leaving the man with his hands tied on the ground. He could untie himself. They went up to the house.

Rhino's voice boomed, "Hijikata! We know you're in there! You almost killed my friend James a few days ago! Now it's reckoning time!"

A voice came from the inside of the house, "What do you want here?"

"What's your name?"

No answer came. R

hino coaxed, "Listen…Come out and we'll talk."

The person inside responded, "No! I'll come out and you'll kill me! What do you take me for?"

Shadow said, frustrated, "We won't!"

Rhino continued, "Come out without any weapons and we'll do the same. We don't want any bloodshed we just want Hijikata. Your base is locked we can't get in anyway. Get up on the roof for all we care! We just want to see your face. What's your name! Tell us and we can talk!"

The man inside wasn't Hijikata. James didn't recognize his voice. No answer from inside. Coaxing time was over, now it was time to bring out force.

Rhino shouted, "Look, you can come out and tell us your name, and where Hijikata is. If you don't we can do this the hard way and break down the door and raid your base. Choose wisely!"

There was silence until the man inside finally broke down and said, "My name is Arnos; Hijikata is inside with me!"

Rhino was in no mood to mince words and said harshly, trying to intimidate Hijikata, "Alright you bloodthirsty murderer, you have two options! One: You pay us not to kill you, and swear to never come near our tribe again, or two, we take you prisoner and destroy everything here, base and supplies inside."

Harsh, but they weren't here to play around. A cold blooded killer near the tribe wasn't going to show them any mercy.

Arnos spoke again, "Quit your threatening! Don't touch me, my friend or our loot! Leave us alone you brutes!"

Rhino was getting increasingly annoyed, "Look, don't you dare act like we're in the wrong! You tried to murder my friend for something he didn't even do!"

Hijikata spoke up at last, "You fools can all leave! There's nothing you can do to me that Apollo can't. I would simply turn around and leave now. I should've killed your friend while I had the chance. I will not come out to meet you!"

He threw a knife out the window and it landed at James' feet.

James let out a frustrated sigh, "I told you we have a Tyrannosaurus in our tribe. That's not an empty threat. Come out or we will destroy your base. We mean business. I'm not sure what this Apollo can do, but he can't do it as soon as we can."

They decided to go up on the roof, where Hijikata kept his resources. They took some of his supplies and went back down. They weren't coming out. Time to break down the base.

Rhino yelled one last time, "Hijikata…This is your last chance! Come out or we'll destroy your base and take you prisoner! Don't think we won't!"

No answer.

Rhino turned back to get Tyros, when they caught a glimpse of Hijikata sprinting into the forest. James shouted for Shadow and Rhino to follow.

"He went into the jungle! Capture him!"

Rhino and Shadow followed, their Raptors growling. They followed him into the jungle, but lost him. They found a piece of Hijikata's clothing on the ground. The Raptors sniffed it and James told Gannet to follow the scent. The Raptors all barked and screeched before sprinting back into the jungle. The cloud began to pour down its load of rain. Lightning flashed and thunder exploded in the air. This wasn't good. It would wash away Hijikata's scent. Sure enough, the Raptors, which had been tearing through the jungle after Hijikata, stopped, smelled a large area, and looked up.

The scent was lost, and Hijikata was gone. Rhino decided to return to Hijikata's base, hiding in wait, and if Hijikata went back, Rhino could capture him. Shadow and James kept searching the forest. After searching for about an hour, the rain cleared up and the sun came out. They went along the beach, and saw two Apatosaurs lumbering along the sand. They kept looking until nightfall. The stars came out and they were still looking. They were in a large field, and all he could see were the dim silhouettes of a Triceratops and a Stegosaurus. Hijikata could be anywhere. They called off the search until morning.

They camped near the field's edge. There was a valley in front of them where he saw a group of Parasaurolophus and Triceratops grazing in the moonlight. Until the next morning then…

When they woke up they decided to return back to Hijikata's base. As they went back they kept combing the area. They entered a jungle and looked around. They combed and searched behind every rock and tree and in every ditch. Hijikata had to be somewhere within a 24 hour radius. He was also on foot, so he couldn't have gone very far.

When they heard a crash, James stepped back into a rock. A Carnotaurus burst out of the forest and attacked a Giant Turtle. It roared and tried to bite the turtle's shell, but the creature simply pulled into it and waited until the Carnotaurus gave up. They passed up the carnivore without any problems.

When they did, Shadow looked over at James and said, "He could be anywhere."

"Which is what scares me." James replied.

For all he knew, Hijikata could be aiming a knife right at his neck from a mere ten feet away. He kept scouring every direction, staring at things and startling at leaves that swayed. He was extremely paranoid, and with good reason. As he looked around, he kept having a nagging feeling that if Hijikata wasn't captured, he'd soon show his face in Ark Village.

They finally came to the edge of the forest and to the shores of Lake Lore. They were close to Hijikata's base. There was a Tyrannosaurus on the beach…not good. They had to avoid that. They went to the other way from the Tyrannosaurus, startling two Phiomia that hadn't seen them. They crossed and found out they were blocked by a muddy shore so slippery and sticky they would get stuck if they crossed. They decided to go back the way they came. They came up on the Carnotaurus after a short while; it was still trying to tackle the tortoise, but failed. It looked up at Shadow and James, deciding they looked like easier targets. They quickly sprinted away from the Carnotaurus, who gave up after a short while and turned back.

Now they had to find a way back to Hijikata's base from the mainland. There was quicksand on one shore, and a wild Tyrannosaurus on the other. James didn't feel like tackling either of those. James knew the general direction but Shadow didn't know where he was. They hadn't really been near this particular area of jungle before.

After a while they got back on track and returned to Hijikata's base, but nobody was there. Rhino had captured him as he tried to return to base during the storm. Hijikata decided to pay the ransom, and he swore never to come back to the base at Lake Lore on pain of death. In fact, when they spied out the base a few weeks later, it was abandoned. They were a bit puzzled on where he went though. Shadow met up with James a bit later.

"Well he's gone," Shadow said.

James looked Shadow and said worried, "But where to?"

Shadow looked down. He didn't know, and if there were any more Dino Raiders, Hijikata could've sent not only a nasty report on Ark Village, but also given away the location of Hijikata's base. It was something James didn't want to happen in the least.

When James returned to the base, he put his gear away and leaned against the wall. He smacked his fist into his other hand and muttered frustrated. He heard footsteps in the other room coming towards him. It was Shira.

"What happened?" she asked.

James sighed, "We went to their base, me Shadow and Rhino. We went and interrogated Hijikata but he was inside his base. He ended up escaping and running into the woods. You saw we captured him, but I'm not sure we should've let him go so easily."

Shira managed to make a weak smile. She was uneasy about the situation, and she had been terrified at the thought of James being murdered.

"Well it's over now."

James nodded, "I just don't feel good about this. I don't trust him, and I don't trust what he might be able to do."

Shira suddenly looked worried, "Are you saying that there's more of them?"

"Well he referred to himself as a member of the Dino Raiders tribe, I just...I don't know."

Shira walked over, "Don't worry James. Come on, it's late."

James nodded. No use worrying. Besides, everybody was alright. He'd just be watching over his shoulder a bit more from now on.


	11. Chapter 11: The Pteranodon Search

Chapter 11

The Pteranodon Search

James opened the door to a small cabinet he had in his house. There were several odds and ends inside. Trophies from various dinosaurs, blueprints, and a photograph of the ESC he had saved from the wreckage. There were a few new mementos he placed inside. He put in one of Barry's spines, and one of his sickle toe claws. He sighed. It would be a while before he'd want to train a Raptor again. Barry had been a good friend, and had met an untimely death. But James wasn't one to dwell on sorrow. Looking down at the floor, he closed the cabinet door.

Several weeks later and James had gotten over his loss. He had been given a pretty nasty job by Rhino. One of the stables were being repaired, and James was given the task of temporarily moving the creatures from that stable to another one. Rhino had left the animals just outside, and James was going to have his hands seriously full. He had to move Tusker, his Phiomia, Cuddles the Sarcosuchus, Mr. Tractor the Triceratops, Bowser the Colossochelys, Brownie the Ankylosaurus, Rufus, another Phiomia, and Bumper the Parasaurolophus.

He sighed, and got on with it. They followed him for a bit, until Cuddles decided to lay down, and the rest of the animals followed suit. James whistled sharply for them to follow, and they went forward a bit more before settling down again.

James began shouting now, "Hey! Hey! C'mon! Let's go! Move it!"

This time the animals actually obeyed and the entire misfit herd rumbled down to the other stable. James carefully put them each in their compartments and locked the stable doors. The stable was just at the parameters of Ark Village, and it was the biggest one in the village.

He had a run on Tusker, which was the fastest Phiomia any of the villagers had seen. He was just heading back when Shadow waved James over.

"What's the problem?" asked James.

"Brownie is missing. He must've wandered off."

They began hunting for the missing Ankylosaurus, and when they found him, he was stuck between two trees. James cut down one of the trees, freeing Brownie, who he rode up to the stables.

Brownie had a tan underbelly with chestnut brown armor and a dark brown stripe running down it with chocolate colored spikes. He returned the armored dinosaur to the stable, and then went out to harvest some dodos. With all the carnivores they had in the camp now, it took a good deal of meat to sustain them all, so they regularly harvested dodos to feed to the big carnivores. James collected two, and got their meat, before feeding them to Bloodrush the Carnotaurus. It belonged to Brian, who regularly took it out on little jaunts.

Just as he was leaving, Brian came in to ride him. Bloodrush was a very intimidating looking Carnotaurus, with yellow eyes and blood red scales. At a distance, somebody might even mistake it for an Alpha Carnotaurus, which were extremely rare.

James decided to join Brian on his run, while riding Tusker. They went along the beach and found a wild Dilophosaurus, who attacked James. Bloodrush made short work of it. He looked into the air and saw a Pteranodon come gliding down. Shadow was riding it. It was named Ptera, and Shadow used it to get around from place to place very quickly. This is when James decided to go out and tame a Pteranodon for himself. He returned to Ark Village, got a bow and tranquilizer arrows, and then got Brownie to ride.

He went out to the meadow, where Pteranodon seemed to congregate. He would've liked a green one, but he'd settle for any color. Brownie thundered and rumbled into the clearing like a huge chocolate colored tank. James looked around, and saw a Pteranodon land. He got off Brownie and looked at it. It was orange, with some maroon stripes running vertically down its beak. Like a quiet cat stalking its prey, James stalked what he hoped would be his new Pteranodon. He pulled out an arrow and shot. The Pteranodon screeched and fluttered up into the air. He shot the Pterosaur twice more, and it flew into a tree. James thought it may have blacked out and fallen down.

He looked over the entire tree but the Pteranodon was nowhere to be found. James was dumbfounded. The Pterosaur almost seemed to disappear. He did a lot of head scratching before he gave up and decided to look around a bit more.

He mounted Brownie again and moved. He went further down the meadow and saw another Pteranodon on the ground. It was a green Pteranodon! Shadow flew over on his Pteranodon and dropped a package on the ground full of tranq arrows. James waved up and Shadow waved back.

"How did he know?" asked James.

He knocked an arrow in the bow, carefully aimed for its shoulder, and shot. The Pteranodon screeched and flapped its huge wings as it clumsily ascended into the air. James shot again, hitting it. Before it got out of range, he shot it one last time. It jerked, flapped irregularly, before falling slowly into the ground. He ran up to it, and got a good look. It was green with very dark blue-grey stripes; quite a nice color.

Brian came over on Bloodrush and asked James if he had enough meat.

"I have enough meat. I think I'll be OK."

He saw Shadow rounding up his Stegosaurs further down the field. He grabbed out the flare gun Rhino had made and sent out a yellow firework into the air. It got Shadow's attention, and he flew over and landed a few yards away.

Shadow came over looking excited, "You got one!"

James smiled and pointed to it.

Shadow crouched down next the Pteranodon, "You know…I can watch over it if you want me to. You could come back in an hour or two."

James smiled, nodded, "That's actually a good idea. I need to collect some berries for the storehouse. Thanks. I'll be back in a bit."

Shadow nodded, sat down below a tree and looked off into the sky.

James decided to take out Spike, his Stegosaurus. He gathered some berries, and Spike browsed a bit on his own. As he was going back to his house a half hour later, he passed up Brian on his Pteranodon, and Rhino on his white and black striped Carnotaurus, Snowstorm.

All the sudden Snowstorm rushed past James, almost brushing against him. James dodged.

"What's going on?" James asked.

"Brian's speeding on his Pteranodon, and Snowstorm won't stop following him." Rhino replied.

James chuckled, "Speeding?! Give that man a ticket!"

As soon as he said this Snowstorm almost bowled him over again.

He returned to the Pteranodon an hour later, and it was getting dark. Brian and Shira had come to see it. Brian was still on Bloodrush and Shira was on her Carnotaurus, Shullershy. McClure also came over on his pride and joy: his Raptor Sandstorm. The taming process was coming along nicely.

Shira crouched and got a look at the Pteranodon, "He's a nice one. Do you have a name for it?"

James rubbed his chin, "No, not yet."

Shira looked into the air, as if to get inspiration from it, "OK...Let me think...Cyclone?"

James mulled it over.

Shira chuckled to herself, "I really can't think of any names right now."

Shadow spoke up, "What about Jet?"

James gave Shadow a look, and Shadow burst into laughter.

James took his shift watching the Pteranodon before quickly going off to get some more meat. He was almost out. He went inside the storage shed and saw some meat, which he gathered and took. He passed up his Apatosaurus, Littlefoot, and then reached his Pteranodon. Still asleep. it was dark now, and he wondered how much longer it would take. Shadow came by again.

"I still think Jet is a good name," he said.

James chuckled, "Only you could think of a name like that."

Shadow dismounted Ronen and continued. "How about Drake?"

James looked at Shadow, "You know what? You, Shira and Rhino all have the most pitiful imaginations."

Shadow laughed, "You're probably right!"

A few hours later, in the dark of night, he had a tamed Pteranodon. He named it Jetstream. He mounted, and the Pteranodon flew up. He had ridden Pteranodon before, but now he was riding his very own. He flew up almost into the clouds, far above Ark Village. When he got a bit lower, he flew over to the base at Lake Lore, and landed there. He decided to bed there for the night. As he entered the building, Shadow came from behind.

James said, "Look, I pretty much chose your name."

Shadow perked up, "Really?"

"Jetstream. Happy now?"


	12. Chapter 12: Plesiosaurs and Ichthyosaurs

Chapter 12

Plesiosaurs and Ichthyosaurs

Waking up, James looked inside his bedchamber. It was so dim. He had his windows open as usual. Why was it so dark? As he opened the door he soon saw why. It was extremely foggy, as fog from the ocean had formed a thick cloak around the beach. He looked outside and saw a Carnotaurus he had never seen before. He saw Shira come around the corner.

He called over, "Hey Shira!"

She looked, waved, and James motioned for her to come over. There was no wind plus it was dead silent. Not a sound could be heard, aside from her silent steps as she came across the sand.

She smiled, "What is it James?"

"Who's Carnotaurus is this?"

"Oh its Jason's. Rhino gave him that reddish saddle. He named it Raspberry."

James laughed. He could see why though, as the Carnotaurus was reddish, with a bit of pink on its head.

Shira squinted her eyes and pointed down the shore, "Now who is that?"

"Looks like Shadow...let's go see."

Shadow was soaked to the bone, and he had a primitive oxygen tank around his back.

James laughed, "Shadow what on earth were you doing?"

Shadow, with wide eyes replied, "Oh, taming something new!"

James got suddenly excited.

"What is it?"

Shadow pointed into the water at what looked like a dolphin, but it wasn't. It was an aquatic reptile known as Ichthyosaurus. It was an extinct, or at least, once extinct aquatic reptile. James waded into the water, which was chest deep. The Ichthyosaurus nudged him as if he was an old friend. James ran his hand along its smooth skin. It even had a saddle.

"That'll be our village's first tamed Ichthyosaur!" Shadow said excitedly.

Shira got in the water as well, laughing as the curious creature nudged her and played like a child in the water.

Shira looked at James, "We need to find our own now!"

Taming their own Ichthyosaur was definitely high up on their list of to-do's, but James also had another few jobs he had to do before he could do that. He had to take care of Cuddles. Cuddles was about as cuddly as a rock, seeing as he was a really sluggish, and sometimes ornery, Sarcosuchus. Cuddles wasn't James' crocodile, but it somehow became his big, grumpy responsibility. James couldn't even remember who owned the big pile of scales. He simply moved Cuddles to one of the underwater bay stables, which were closed off spaces in the bay near Ark Village.

He could hold off on the second job for a bit anyway. He was just too excited about the Ichthyosaurus project. He had known about the Ichthyosaurs in the bay for quite a bit, but it was only very recently that Shadow had learned how to tame them.

He mounted his Pteranodon and looked into the bay. He saw a Colossochelys, and at least three Ichthyosaurs in the water. Finding one wouldn't be much of a challenge that was for sure. They were all over the bays and reefs offshore. They probably wouldn't even need to take a mount to tame one. As he flew and admired the scenery, he caught a glimpse of a Stegosaurus eating berries on the shore.

Suddenly he put his hands over his face and gave a frustrated groan. He remembered a job he had to do.

Reluctantly, he wheeled around on his Pteranodon and went to the stables. He had to go out and find berries on his Stegosaurus. He got out Sir Spikes and put the gear on. Sighing, he went out to the berry patches. He was finding it increasingly difficult to collect large quantities of berries. He used to collect vast amounts, but now he got far less. He guessed it was probably because most of the berry patches around the village had been absolutely ransacked.

He was having no luck, and he was finding it very hard to focus anyway. He just wanted to get his hands on an Ichthyosaur and go out looking for underwater treasures. He had heard rumors of silica pearls shining like stars on the deep ocean floor. James suddenly snapped out of his daydream when the Stegosaurus got down and started to fall asleep. He woke it up, put it in the stables, and expelled most of his energy running to Shira's house to tell her to get ready to look for that Ichthyosaurus.

Shadow had told Shira about a part of the bay filled with Ichthyosaurs. They went to it, James riding Bumper, his Parasaurolophus, and Shira riding her Carnotaurus Shullershy. When they approached the bay, there were at least five Ichthyosaurs in the bay. All they had to do was take their pick. The creatures were friendly to begin with, and they hardly did anything when the two humans approached, not even bothering to get away. Really, the only thing they needed to do to tame an Ichthyosaur was to simply feed it fish, and put a saddle on it.

At the end of the hour, James had a red and brown one named Echo, and Shira had a green and orange one named Algae. They each got on their Ichthyosaurs and tested them out the entire day.

By nightfall, they were quite comfortable with them. The next day and they swam even more. Shira was in love with hers, and so was James. They were nearly ready to explore the depths of the sea around the Ark.

The following day James was doing his rounds about the village. Shira was in the bay practicing diving and evasive moves on Algae. Walking past the main highway going through the village, he saw Tobi's Tyrannosaurus named Little Princess. Though James wouldn't have ever named a Tyrannosaurus such a patronizing name, it didn't help that the T-Rex was grey with pink marking all over it.

James decided to go out on a mission to collect some metal ore to make some advanced tools for their underwater expeditions. There was a very tall mountain named Mt. Orncreft in the mountain range north of Ark Village that was full of iron and copper ores in different parts of the mountain. He climbed up, higher and further. However, he didn't find any metal on that part of the summit. So, he decided to clamber his way to the top.

After a bit of a struggle, he reached the top, and found an empty storage box. Nothing was in it, so he looked out. The view was spectacular. He could see for miles and miles. The forests to the North, Lake Lore to the East, and the ocean and Ark Village to the West. He gasped. He couldn't get over how beautiful the view looked. It was a feast to the eyes. The vast, spreading, grassy meadows full of peaceful grazing Triceratops and Stegosaurus. The deep green forests and jungles looking like moss on a rock. There were gleaming white rivers, running like glass ribbons through the vast landscape, with a sky as blue as sapphire, and air as pure as crystal. To the far south was a large mountain range, with peaks covered in snow.

He took in the view, admiring every last bit of it, and then he started moving back down. He clambered carefully down the steep slope when a loose rock shifted under his feet. He slid down the hill on his back, letting the rock flow do what it wanted with him. He wasn't going too fast, and he was in complete control of himself. He slid down faster and faster. James dug his feet into the gravel, which slowed him down a bit, before reaching a slightly less steep part of the hill and coming to a stop. James got up. He hadn't taken any mounts, so he didn't need to find it, and he didn't really have anything on him. He simply descended slowly before reaching the base of the mountain.

On his way back, he was walking into the jungle when suddenly something large and black jumped out in front of him. It was a Saber-Toothed Cat. James yelled, and pulled out his knife. The Smilodon was facing him now, and he threateningly swiped his blade, yelling. The cat roared, exposing fangs like murderous butcher knives. James took a step towards the cat, which shied away, before running away back into the jungle.

He quickly evacuated, but suddenly realized he was only a half mile away from the village. He flew into his house, breathed a sigh of relief. Smilodon may be terrifying creatures, but if you stand your ground they usually go to pick on somebody their own size. With that, James fell asleep in his bed.

The next day he took out his Pteranodon, Jetstream. He flew around the island scouting the entire day, and then it got dark. He was flying back when he saw a campfire, and three Carnotaurus standing around it. He recognized Raspberry, and two others. When he flew down and saw who it was he met with Tobi, Edmonto and Rhino.

Rhino looked up and waved, "Hello James we were just having a little fireside chat about now."

James walked up, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We were just exploring a bit, looking for a renegade Raptor or something. What are you doing here?"

"Scouting. Shira and I are going to be going on an underwater expedition before long."

Rhino nodded, chewing on a piece of wheat.

"Yeah I'd like to get an Ichthyosaurus myself. Find some of those Ichthyosaurs and find some of those silica pearls!"

James laughed, "Rhino I didn't think you're the type that would look for buried treasure!"

The next day, he swung by Shira's house. Shira looked very excited.

"What are we doing today James?"

Her enthusiasm rubbed off on James, "We're going on an underwater expedition. There are rumors of silica pearls underwater near the waters near the Red Cliffs."

Shira nodded, "I like how that sounds. When will we leave?"

James shrugged, "Now if you want."

Shira smiled, "I was hoping you'd say that!"

They had gotten ready, using Rhino's primitive air sacks to breathe underwater, though it would only last for under a half hour. They both got on their Ichthyosaurs and dove underneath the water. It was like a mystical alternate world. There were stone columns and kelp gently swaying to and fro in the sea. They had brought goggles with them to see underwater, and that helped tremendously.

They suddenly saw a dead Ichthyosaurus in the water. Looking down, they saw three Megalodon all coming up towards them. They got there almost at once. Shira pointed vigorously away from the Megalodon. They surfaced, and the Ichthyosaurs swam as fast as they possibly could.

Another hour out at sea, and they were right in front of the base at Lake Lore, which they had swum into. James saw a Pteranodon in the air. It was Edmonto, on Iceflame. Edmonto waved and Shira and James waved back. They quickly stopped off at the base to get something to eat.

There was some sort of chowder there that James ate. It had a weird taste...a bit like peanuts actually. Shira got some jerky and gnawed on that, before proclaiming it too tough, and just getting some berries. Then, they hopped back on their Ichthyosaurs.

James said he'd like to go deep, and see what lay deeper underwater. They executed their plan, and dove way, way down. They had explored for about 10 minutes before seeing something very scary. There was an Elasmosaurus! It was a large Plesiosaur that they had never seen before. Shira's eyes were wide, and she pointed up. James was right behind her. He looked behind him and the Elasmosaurus was still following them...along with three Megalodon. They booked it faster than they ever had before, the Ichthyosaurs running on their own terror.

They outran the Megalodon, and returned to the base at Lake Lore. Rhino was there, and he had a huge grin on his face.

James smirked, "What's so lovely today Rhino?"

Rhino held up a sack and the grin seemed to connect at the back of his head. He opened up the sack, and about 10 huge pearls spilled out onto the table. Shira and James both gasped.

"I got my Ichthyosaurus this morning."

James shook his head.

He was heading out the door when Shira called after him, "James! Where are you going?!

James yelled back, "To find some silica pearls!"


	13. Chapter 13: Ark Village Meets Set

Chapter 13

Ark Village Meets Set

It was dark. Men from Ark Village and Edmonto had come to meet. They were initiating a new tribe member. The eccentric, easily impressed Setonji, or Set as he liked to be called. He was a castaway that had lived in the jungle for a while. He had swung by the Rockart tribe, since Rhino and Shadow had both heard of him, and had also seen him, but didn't know him personally. They were now meeting with him a few miles from Ark Village. Set knew a good bit about the Ark Tribe, but was completely trustworthy, though trusting him with your life could be a big mistake.

He was average height, and was tanned all over. His voice was loud, gruff, and usually excited and cheerful. He wore cloth and leather, and wasn't muscular by any means. He had lived near a creek in the jungle, and usually ate fish and berries. Now, he was joining the Tribe of Ark. Shadow, McClure, Rhino, and Tobi with his 12 year old son Edmonto, were all in the meadow near Lake Lore. James had brought Tusker, his Phiomia, and Edmonto was riding his Raptor, Speedy. Rhino was riding Batya, and Shadow was riding ever loyal Ronen. McClure was riding his Raptor, Sandstorm, the first Raptor to be trained for the Ark Tribe. Tobi had his Argentavis, Midnight, the ebony black giant vulture.

James looked at Shadow.

"Isn't Set supposed to be here already?" James asked.

As if on cue, Set appeared out of the bushes like a stray cat, which was pretty much what he was.

"I am here! I am here!" Set shouted excitedly.

James waved, "Hello Set! Welcome to the tribe."

Set shook James' hand, which to James felt like a jackhammer. Set had an enormous smile on his face, and James tried to release the grip, but the overjoyed Set kept shaking his hand.

"I've never been in a tribe before!" Set shouted.

James tried to introduce Shadow, and when he did, Set began jostling Shadow with his overly vigorous handshake.

After repeating this cycle with everybody else, Set got up and asked, "Where is the Village? Which way's south?"

McClure pointed South, "We'll get there in a few hours, it's nearly daylight."

After arguing on who had to surrender his mount, Tobi went off on his Argentavis and came back with his Parasaurolophus, Bumper.

Rhino looked over at Set, "So, Set, why exactly have you decided to join the Tribe of Ark?"

"Ah, a Carnotaurus decided to make my home, it's home. So, now I want to join the tribe! How many are in the tribe now?"

"About fifty members now," Rhino said.

In the small hours of the morning, nothing happened, and they went on their way. At about 6:00 in the morning, James was attacked by fire ants while on Tusker, which Set decided was too slow. Set ran off at the sight of the ants, screaming some gibberish none of the party could decipher. When the ants were dead, Set came back, and said he had a fear of ants.

Another hour and it was daylight. Suddenly the men realized Set wasn't following them.

James sighed, "Set! Set come back!"

No answer.

Rhino shook his head, "You could just yell." and Rhino sure did, "Set! There are ants where you're at! Come back over here!"

Sprinting out of the bush came Set. The party laughed, and Rhino almost fell off Batya, howling with laughter.

The rest of the party, except for Shadow and Edmonto, decided to cross the beach to get to the village, but there was always a group of Ankylosaurus on that beach, and they didn't want to go anywhere near them. So, they would be going by meadow to the Village, though it would take a bit longer to get to the village. Soon enough, they reached the village, and Set began roaming around, familiarizing himself with the sights.

James saw Shadow go out on his Spinosaurus, Ice-Tea. When he asked why, Shadow replied that there was a Tyrannosaurus close to the village, so he was going out on Ice-Tea, called that because of its tea colored sail, with the rest of it being olive green, with a yellow snout. Edmonto was up on his Pteranodon, watching the action from a distance. James was on Ronen, and he watched from a distance as well.

The Spinosaurus roared a huge crocodile roar and the T-rex responded with a resounding bellowing roar. The Spinosaurus grabbed the T-rex's head with its massive claws and quickly bit down on the T-rex's neck. The T-rex roared and then Ice-Tea let go. The T-rex ran off, not wanting to be killed. They looked at the ground at what looked like a huge red rock. But, James knew what it was: a Tyrannosaurus egg. This was a big score. He told Edmonto to take it back to the Village storehouse. He took it and flew off. Rhino came over on his Phiomia, Rufus. He took one look at Ice Tea going back to Ark Village, and he went with the security. He looked along the beach and saw a piranha on the shore. He killed it and harvested its meat.

A few hours later and he saw Set on Tusker, trotting along the seashore. He looked down the shore and Set yelled and charged. It was a beautiful looking Ankylosaurus that was stone grey with two orange stripes running down its sides. Its head was also orange.

Set said excitedly, "It's orange! We must tame it!"

James rolled his eyes. He had heard somewhere through the grapevine that orange was Set's favorite color.

Edmonto came over on his Pteranodon. When he heard Set's request for the Ankylosaur, he laughed and flew off. That boy loved to explore on his flyers. Unfortunately, they didn't have all day to tame it, so, after much persuasion, Set decided to reluctantly abandon the Ankylosaur of his dreams. A bit further down the beach, they saw a dead Raptor that, as fate would have it, was a blazing orange with green spines.

Set, devastated, cried out, "Who…Who killed it?! Who?!"

Much to James annoyance, the orange Ankylosaurus had come to investigate. It also had orange spikes.

Set, mystified, said, "Orange is the color of life!"

' _Whatever that means…'_ James thought.

He decided to show Set the base at Lake Lore, which had grown into a little mini-village of itself. Shadow, Rhino and McClure lived there. When they arrived, Set was riding Tusker, and James was riding Speedy. "James, we made it!" Set said happily. Set entered into the base, which now had eleven individual livable buildings in it.

Edmonto met Set, "You can go around and look at everything if you want, Tobi's my dad and he's over there, and I'll be over in my house."

He pointed, and Set walked up the blue steps to the Village court. Set went directly to the Theropod court, where all the big carnivorous dinosaurs lived, with the small dinosaurs living in the stables. They passed up Bloodrush, the red Carnotaurus, Pumpkin the Spinosaurus, and Ice Tea. With a golden bridle sat Tyros, the tribe's first tamed Tyrannosaurus.

Set looked at the dinosaur conduct sign, which had three rules on it,

1\. Only ride your dinosaurs.

2\. Get another owner's permission before riding their dinosaurs.

3\. Only take your stuff.

Set made a mental note, before he came to the huge gates of the Aquatic Bay. They went to check on the aquatic reptiles, but there was something going on. Ice Tea was in the water attacking something. A Sarcosuchus was attacking Muddy, Edmonto's Elasmosaurus. The Spinosaurus quickly dispatched the Sarcosuchus, and James took Muddy out for a ride. He put it back, and then went to check on Set, who looked like he was trying to get on an annoyed looking T-rex.


	14. Chapter 14: Taming Alan the Raptor

Chapter 14

Taming Alan the Raptor

James was out with Shira on a mission: to tame another Raptor. After the untimely death of Barry, James had needed to tame a new one, but he hadn't had a chance. Now, he was going out with Shira, hoping they'd be able to tame one before the end of the day.

They were combing the beach, and this particular spot was unusually cluttered. It was an extremely wide beach, stretching back over 200 yards, before the sands met up with a hillside forest. They surveyed the beach. There was a bunch of Stegosaurs, Triceratops and Parasaurolophus, as well as several Apatosaurs. Further down the beach Shira pointed into the ocean.

"James, look down there. There's a Spinosaurus in the water."

James looked over. It was attacking something that looked like a shark. James didn't like it. He decided to tranquillize it and then, when tranquilized, they could either kill it, or tame it. He just decided to tranquilize it now. He fired a tranq arrow at it. It hit its mark since the Spinosaurus roared and bit at its side where James had shot it. When James saw the Spinosaurus look his way and roar loudly, he sprinted to the forest. Shira sprinted alongside him.

A bizarre fact about the Spinosaurus was how jealously it guarded its territory. A Spinosaurus' territory was almost always near water. It would do nothing short of kill you if you were on its beach as an invader, but if you run away, the further you got away from the beach the less vicious the Spinosaurus became. If you run far enough, fast enough, the Spinosaurus will usually lose interest and return to the water. James used that same tactic. The Spinosaurus would not only have to run into the forest, which was a huge grove of giant sequoia, but it would also have to run up a hill. After running a good ways, the Spinosaurus turned back to the water without even a roar. Shira and James were both breathing heavily.

"You OK?" James asked.

Shira nodded and smiled. Nothing could beat her. She had tamed a Spinosaurus, but this one was a male, and red with grey legs and arms.

"Do you want that one?" asked James.

Shira shook her head, "I think that one has some behavioral issues."

When they returned to the beach they saw a red-orange Raptor with blue-grey spines. It looked beautiful. He saw the Raptor speed down towards a Triceratops and attack. James also saw the Spinosaurus down the beach returning to its shark and dragging it onto the beach to eat. Hopefully that would keep the sail-backed monster distracted. He pulled out a tranq arrow and shot the Raptor in the thigh. It was a perfect shot, but the Raptor was distracted by the Triceratops, which has knocked it to the ground. The Triceratops was now warding it off.

He looked down the beach again, and realized with alarm that the Spinosaurus had eaten most of the shark and left. It was now attacking a Parasaurolophus, but was advancing down the beach. He shot the Raptor again. Two more arrows and the Raptor was down. This was going very well.

He fed the Raptor meat and narcotics.

"Ah…you're a beauty!" he said with excitement.

He looked to where Shira was standing, except now she wasn't there.

He shouted, "Shira! Where are you?!"

she was over near the Spinosaurus, which was currently fighting a Triceratops.

He yelled, "Shira are you out of your mind?! Get back here!"

She looked over and ran back. James was angry until she held out a pile of prime meat. It was from the Megalodon the Spinosaurus had killed.

"Never do that again." he said in a low voice.

"I won't have to." she replied.

The Spinosaurus was going on a positive rampage. One thing was for sure, this was a male who was extremely protective of his territory. It left the Triceratops it was attacking, which ran off, and it began attacking a Parasaurolophus, and in the process got closer to the two of them and their Raptor. If it got any closer he'd have to kill it. He really wanted to avoid that situation.

The Spinosaurus got away from their Raptor a bit, and they commenced naming it. It's nearly impossible to tell what gender a Raptor is, so it could be named with either a girl or boy name.

Shira looked at its blue spines, "How about Aqua? But no…this Raptor is red-orange. Lava?"

But that didn't have the ring either. The Spinosaurus kept attacking everything near its territory. It had killed almost everything near it. It turned towards James, and it looked like it was going towards them. "You'd better run..." James said.

it turned out however that the Spinosaurus turned and started attacking a Stegosaurus. This was crazy. The Spinosaurus was going on a gigantic killing spree. He decided to sneak up to it and shoot it with some arrows. He got just close enough to guarantee a shot, and then, while the Spinosaurus got pummeled by the Stegosaurus' spiny tail, James took three shots. The Spinosaurus was covered in blood. Suddenly, when the Spinosaurus tried to bite it, the Stegosaurus swung and struck the Spinosaurus hard on the head. The Spinosaurus roared and ran off. The Stegosaurus bellowed and chased it.

"Well the tables have turned." James said to himself.

The Spinosaurus went along the edge of the woods, but was running right over towards the Raptor and Shira. It roared and toppled a tree along the forest edge. James ran over to Shira, who was lying prone on the sand. The Raptor was alright, and James hit the dirt beside Shira. The Spinosaurus was stopped by three Triceratops, which began attacking it. The Stegosaurus caught up and they killed the Spinosaurus.

After harvesting some of its prime meat and recovering some of his arrows, James went back to Shira, relieved. Now they wouldn't have to look over their shoulder at a mad Spinosaurus constantly.

They kept feeding it narcotics and prime meat. It would be even easier to tame with prime meat. He had brought Rhino's Raptor vocal box. They watched and waited. James looked down the beach and saw an enemy almost as fierce as a Spinosaurus. He rarely saw them, but they did exist, and they were incredibly nasty: giant ants.

They didn't exist in the fossil record that he knew of. Some were like enormous fire ants, crawling on the ground, and they bit with huge mandibles that could sever a finger. The really deadly ones were the flying ones. The fliers were the colony soldiers, and they had stingers. The sting felt like being stabbed with a hot poker, followed by an extreme numbing sensation that debilitated most creatures.

There were giant ground ants on the beach. He charged towards them and swung at them with his pick and killed them all. There were three. When he heard a droning buzz he got really nervous.

He yelled over to Shira, "Flying Soldier Ants!"

Shira got up, leaving the Raptor and plunging into the water. James knew that if the ants stung you too many times, death would follow. He knew a Raptor would be the same, so he threw togethe an emergency plan. He looked and saw an Apatosaurus at the forest edge. He watched as the two giant flyer ants swarmed over towards him. He ran over to the Apatosaurus, hoping that the ants would start attacking the Apatosaurus, and then would leave James alone.

When a Giant Ant stung, it would release pheromones into the air that put any other stinging ants around into a blind rage. He hid behind the Apatosaurs' leg. The ants began attacking the Apatosaur, which began thrashing around and James ran away from it as fast as he could. He watched from the beach as the Apatosaur whacked with its tail, bellowing and thrashing. It slammed one of the ants with its tail, and when James found it, he killed it with his hatchet. The others must've flown away or were killed by the Apatosaur.

He looked over at Shira, "That was a close call."

Shira chuckled and looked back at the Raptor, "It better not be closer next time," she said.

It was still unconscious. He looked down the beach and saw another pair of Raptors way down the beach, going after a Stegosaurus. They left those ones alone.

James went into the forest to see if there were any narcoberries. There were crawling ants in the woods. James quickly evacuated the area, not wanting to have any more flying ants to attack him. When he got back, Shira was taming the Raptor. It was up, and Shira was performing the Raptor call. James stood still, not wanting to interfere. The taming was successful, and James suddenly found the right name: Alan.

James looked at Alan, "Welcome to the tribe of Ark, Alan."

He put on its saddle he had brought.

"Great work Shira!"

She smiled and looked back at the Raptor.

"He's a beauty!" she said.

"He sure is," replied James, suddenly shocked at just how amazing he looked.

The contrast between his bright red-orange scales and his aqua-blue spines was very eye-catching, and he was definitely a friendly one at that.

"It's a good thing you taught me how to use that Raptor Call," said Shira, "Or I probably would've been in trouble."

"Sorry I had to leave, but those stupid Giant Ants would've made even more trouble than that Raptor."

Shira huffed, "I hate them too, but at least we got the Raptor."

James looked over him again, "Well you tamed him, so you get the first go on him."

Shira held up her hand, "Oh no James he's your Raptor I don't want-"

"Please," said James, "I insist."

She shyly approached the saddle.

"Go on!" said James, "Let's see what he can do."

Shira mounted, and just let the Raptor get used to her weight before she increased the speed a bit. Before long, she was sprinting up and down the beach fast as Alan could go. She was laughing with joy on his back, and it made James' heart feel something he hadn't felt before. Maybe, just maybe, Shira had found healing.

After returning to Ark Village, Shadow, Rhino and David were the first to know.

Rhino patted the Raptor on the back, "So why not Barry two?"

James responded, "Because this one looks like an Alan."

Rhino shrugged his shoulders, "Oh, by the way, did you guys see that rampaging Spinosaurus at the beach near the Red Cliffs? That thing was killing everything!"


	15. Chapter 15: Phil the Gigantopithecus

Chapter 15

The Gigantopithecus Named Phil

Waking up, James saw Shadow and McClure in a circle talking to each other. He went across the court in Ark Village and came up to talk.

"Big news," said Shadow excitedly, "McClure just saw a new creature near the base at Lake Lore."

James was now just as excited as Shadow, "What was it?"

"A huge bipedal ape. It must be a Gigantopithecus; it's the only animal that fits the description."

McClure nodded, "I heard from the other tribe that you need to feed it Mejoberries to tame it. Feed it from the front in a non-aggressive manner. If you startle it from behind it will attack you. The Rockarts said that they will also keep chasing you down if you anger them. They aren't very fast, but they can tear you limb from limb."

James raised his eyebrow, thinking of all the uses a bipedal ape could have. It could carry, defend, and be helpful in raids or battles against other tribes.

McClure continued, "They have one, it is extremely smart, powerful, and loyal. I'm going to go find one; they must've come up from the south."

Shadow mounted Ronen, his Raptor, to search for his, and McClure mounted Sandstorm. James mounted Alan, and rode off. He was wearing his purple armor that Rhino had made him. He checked his supplies in his pack. He had some cooked jerky for himself, meat for Alan, a bow and arrows, and narcotics to tranquilize the ape if things got out of hand. McClure had said that tranquilizing the ape was a bad idea, since the species as a whole were incredibly deep sleepers, known to sleep through the ruckus of a herd of Apatosaurs feeding. He had oodles of Mejoberries, which were the Gigantopithecus' favorite food.

He quickly locked up his house, and looked over at Shira's house. She was coming out if her house and she waved at James.

"Where are you going James?"

James called back, "I'm getting me an ape!"

Shira looked confused, but she shook her head and went back inside, knowing she'd find out soon enough. He went back to locking up, and admiring his work. The castle, as he called it, was coming along quite nicely. It had stone walls and floor, with a storage area for the basement. The open first level didn't have a front wall yet, but that would soon change.

He finally looked at the community stables, where all the tribe's Raptors, Parasaurolophus', and Dodos were kept, as well as the odd Dilophosaurus or Giant Tortoise. There was space to add another occupant. Good. The ape would go there.

He headed out into the forest, making for the base at Lake Lore, to see if anybody had any luck. He had the strong feeling the ape would be near the hills. There were mountains to the North, and he decided to check there first, hoping he'd bump into one along the way. He came to the base, but nobody was there. No signs of anyone being there lately except for smoldering day old embers on the campfire outside the door. He went down to the edge of Lake Lore; maybe it would be there.

He didn't think that he'd find the ape mixing with other species. He knew Gigantopithecus was highly intelligent, and it was also described as being a forest dweller. The Lake shore was habitat for Stegosaurus, but not for the ape.

As he ran along the shore he saw a lone Dilophosaurus attacking a Triceratops. But the Dilophosaurus was interrupted, and much to James' surprise, a Raptor came out of nowhere and leapt onto the back of the Triceratops. The Triceratops threw it off, and another Triceratops came and impaled it with its horns, killing it. James took some of the meat and continued on. He looked at his map, and at the Apatosaurus on the opposite shore.

He thought the mountain closest to him was best. It was more of a huge, grassy hill, and he decided to go there. David had built a base close to there that James had heard was a huge castle. There was also however, a Dino Raider base near the mountain as well. James stayed well away.

James led Alan down to the edge of the lake and they began swimming across. Midway down the lake crossing, Alan let out a screech of pain. James lurched behind and saw a mega-piranha chomping on Alan's tail. James struck the fish with his iron hatchet. The bloodthirsty fish swam away, and Alan swam much faster to the opposite shore. James dismounted and checked Alan's wound. It wasn't serious, though James bandaged it up and they continued on.

After trudging back into the jungle, Alan smelled the air. James smelled it too: a dead carcass. They eventually came to a dead Triceratops, a very long dead Triceratops. Alan then hunched low and growled, the spines on his neck bristling. James jumped off Alan. He had learned long ago that an angry Raptor, even a tame one, was a thing best stayed away from.

Alan lunged forward, and then in a screeching ball of scales and claws, did battle with another grey Raptor. Alan slashed and bit, James jumped in and struck the raptor on the back of the head with his stone club. The Raptor fell down, and Alan finished it off. They continued on, James hoping to come back to Ark Village alive.

James decided to search along Lake Lore. The ape may have come down to it to drink. All he saw however was a Stegosaurus, and when he looked some more, he saw a rare Giant Tortoise with a golden shell. No ape down by the river. He went back into the jungle, and went into a rocky area. Suddenly from behind a boulder an enemy Raptor flew into Alan. James was knocked off, and if it wasn't for the armor he was wearing he would've had a lethal slash wound on his side from where the Raptor hit him. Alan was well trained in combat, and after a brief struggle, he killed the enemy Raptor.

He had seen two enemy Raptors. This was unusual, and James didn't like it. James wondered if they had been trained by the Dino Raiders themselves.

He came to a wide field, and in it was a wooden structure. It was David's storage shed. Alan's neck spines bristled again, accompanied by a low growl. James dismounted, and no sooner had he then Alan sprinted into the field. James rushed after him, he was fighting two Raptors. One was blue, and the other was green with a long yellow striped running down its side. James yelled, letting Alan have one Raptor. The green Raptor went after James, screeching and then charging. James was wielding his stone club, his best weapon against Raptors. He swung it at the weak spot on a Raptors snout. The Raptor screamed and swung with his sickle toe claw. It skidded along James's iron armor, leaving him unharmed, though the chest plate had a large slash mark on it.

He swung again, this time aiming directly at the Raptor's skull. The aim was true and the Raptor was brought down. Alan had also killed the other Raptor. Then, a loud screech, louder, longer and fiercer was heard on the forest's edge. It was what James had feared. It was an Alpha Raptor. It came into the field. Its eyes were white-red and pupil-less. It was bright white, with red spines on its tail and neck. Its teeth were huge, and razor sharp.

Alpha dinosaurs are usually carnivores, and they are bigger, smarter, faster and fiercer than normal dinosaurs of their species. Alpha dinosaurs are untrainable, and deadly, and were also known to kill for sport.

The alpha though, wasn't going for James. It was going for a Stegosaurus on the edge of the field. With blinding speed the Alpha Raptor bolted towards the Stegosaur, which prepared to swing its spiked tail at the Alpha. The Alpha Raptor jumped above the Stegosaur's tail as it swung, running beside it, and clamping its jaws around the Stegosaurus' neck. After several seconds, the Stegosaur crashed to the ground, dead. But the Alpha didn't eat it, it simply screeched in victory and left.

Alan screeched, getting the Alpha Raptor's attention. The Alpha looked with its blood-white eyes, screeched with bloody fangs and sprinted towards Alan. James leapt off, and let Alan do battle. Snarling, Alan lunged with outstretched claws towards the Alpha Raptor. James looked on with horror. He yelled to Alan, who was holding his own. In fact, the Alpha was doing less damage than Alan.

Alan did a tactical retreat, but the Alpha made an unbelievably long leap towards Alan. Alan turned around, using the Alpha's momentum against him, and slamming into it. The Alpha screeched. James saw that the Alpha was taking a lot of damage. Alan kept biting and slashing. Then, Alan went for the Alpha Raptor's throat, biting and not letting go. Then, the Alpha collapsed. Alan had won. James yelled to Alan, who came over.

James scratched Alan on the head. Alan growled contentedly. It was a miracle that Alan had made it out with only minor flesh wounds. James bandaged them up and collected the prime meat from the Alpha. Alpha dinosaurs only have prime meat, and after killing them, harvesting their meat is a must.

They continued on until about 3:00 in the afternoon. Suddenly he saw something heading down towards Lake Lore. It was the Gigantopithecus! It was right where they had fought the Alpha Raptor. James had to keep from shouting in happiness.

He dismounted Alan, "Stay Alan," he commanded, before putting the berries in his knapsack.

There was a Pteranodon walking around the field too, feasting on the dead Raptor carcasses. Gigantopithecus also eat carrion, so perhaps that had drawn it out. The ape disturbed a Dimorphodon, which fluttered into the air. The ape took no notice. When the ape turned towards James, he edged out of its way.

It was huge, about nine feet tall, and bipedal. It was just mulling around the field. The ape turned and saw James. James quietly extended his hand with the berries. The ape looked them over and snatched them before continuing on its way. McClure had said that Gigantopithecus wouldn't harm you in any way unless you either startled it, or attacked it. James was doing neither. And feeding it constantly would tame the creature. When tamed, they were very loyal, and friendly.

The ape kept ambling along, and it stopped right in front of David's storage shed. James walked up to the ape again, with the berries in his hand. But the ape didn't see him until he was right there. Startled, the ape roared and swung his hand.

He yelled and ran as fast as he could, "Is he following me?!" James said to himself.

He looked behind him and saw the ape running like an angry bodybuilder towards him. He ran all the way to Lake Lore, which was much closer than he thought from the field. The ape kept on coming.

"Man, it is really not happy with me," James said.

When he looked back behind him, he saw a Dilophosaur chasing him. The Gigantopithecus was distracted by it, and it stopped chasing James. With one swipe of its tremendous hands, the ape flung the limp, lifeless body of the Dilophosaur 50 feet down the field.

James now saw the tremendous power of this creature. After a few minutes he fed it again, and it accepted the food. James now knew he'd have to kill any aggressive animals near it or he couldn't tame the ape. He looked around. There were all kinds of Pterosaurs everywhere but that wouldn't matter. There was also a lone Stegosaurus walking in the field. Nothing else he could see though. He fed the ape again, and then a third time. Good, he was actually getting somewhere. He left a berry trail leading to the beach. That way he was further away from the forest, as keeping up with the ape in the forest would be much harder.

The ape followed the trail, eating the berries as he went. At the end of the trail, James held out more berries, which the ape took. Suddenly Alan came running over. James whistled for him to stop.

He said loud enough for the Raptor to hear but quiet enough to not spook the ape, "Alan, do NOT attack it!"

The ape continued, unfazed. He fed the ape several more times, going down the beach following the ape. There was a canyon going from the beach down into the forest. He saw what he least wanted to see down inside the canyon: a Carnotaurus.

"Ah, that's a Carnotaurus," said James to himself, "Ah…what am I going to do? I could lure the ape away. But it's getting closer…No, I'm going to have to kill it. I can't risk it."

He ran over to Alan, and charged the Carnotaurus. He ran into the canyon and at the last second jumped off Alan and let his Raptor fight it out. Alan was about a match for an untrained Carnotaurus. Alan jumped up on the Carnotaurus' back, where it couldn't bite. And since a Carnotaurus' arms are basically useless, Alan was in the best spot he could be in. he continued to attack with precise skill. He made short work of the Carnotaurus.

He let Alan eat some of the meat before going back to the ape, which was still in the same place.

He began talking to himself again, "He seems to be OK with Alan. Must only get angry if something directly attacks it."

He kept going for another hour, feeding it at intervals, and staying in the same area. He passed the same Stegosaur that had been there for as long as he had.

Another hour, and then after feeding it another time, the ape looked at him, and sat down. McClure had said that when a Gigantopithecus is tamed, it will sit down to signal you to groom it. This meant that James had now tamed the ape.

"Yes!" he said excitedly, as he began stroking the ape's coarse hair. The ape stood up.

James laughed, "Well now you won't punch me in the face! I think I'm going to name you…Phil!"

The ape snorted at his new name, and stared at James. James smiled and put his helmet on Phil. Phil looked so comical that James laughed out loud. The ape simply tapped it with his knuckles. Phil then took it off and sniffed it, then put it back on.

"I guess that's your helmet now," said James.

He decided to ride Phil, which he did by siting on Phil's shoulders. He whooped and Phil ran ahead. James had a bit of training to do. Phil then crouched down to eat some berries, as if he hadn't had enough. Then he stood up, and threw James off his shoulders, before continued eating. James rolled onto the ground and looked back up at the helmeted Gigantopithecus.

"Phil!" shouted James, "Don't do that!"

Taking Phil and whistling for Alan, James decided to return to the base at Lake Lore. Phil had a lot of stamina, but he didn't run all that fast. He was riding Phil while Alan followed behind. James traveled for an hour and a half, before he saw an orange Raptor several hundred yards in front of him. Time to test Phil's combat skill.

Phil roared and grabbed the Raptor, before he threw it on the ground, and punched it in the face. With a grunt, he threw the Raptor's body into Lake Lore. James was stunned.

They kept going on and on, and crossed a stream, then a broader river about 10 feet deep. They kept going until nightfall. Then they came to Lake Lore and had to cross it. James knew this part of the lake was full of Mega-Piranhas. Phil crossed and Alan followed. Just as he feared, a school of Mega-Piranhas, swarmed Alan.

Phil grabbed the fish and tore them to pieces. The vicious fish then began a feeding frenzy on their dead comrades. Phil and Alan exited the water as fast as possible. On the opposite shore, they saw a Triceratops, and in the far distance, the silhouette of a Spinosaurus. They evacuated the area immediately.

They arrived at Ark Village at about midnight, deciding to take the extra few hours to the entire way back to the village. James put Phil in the stables and told him to toss him up on the roof. Phil catapulted James onto the roof.

"Phil!" shouted James, "You beauty!"

Coming from around the corner came Shira.

"You tamed a giant ape?" she said incredulously.

James nodded and looked down at her.

"Alright," she continued, "I can take him out too right?"

"Sure," said James, "He's a bit of a brute though."

"Well," Shira replied, "Will you need a ladder to get down from off the roof?"

"Oh...maybe." said James, embarrassed.

He was up about 15 feet off the ground, definitely ankle-breaking distance if he fell. She came after a bit with the ladder and he climbed down.

"I can take it back to your house," he said smiling.

Shira laughed, "Did you see anything else while you were gone?" she asked.

James replied, "Oh yes: an Alpha Raptor."

Shira looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"What are those?" she asked.

"The leaders of the pack. They're bigger, smarter, and faster than normal Raptors."

Shira shuddered, "Regular wild Raptors are deadly enough."

James nodded, "Alan was trained well enough to take it on."

Shira nodded, impressed.

She looked at James hauling her ladder, and she smiled and said rather cautiously, "You can have dinner at my place since you're already here."

James was flattered, "Alright," he said, "That sounds great."


	16. Chapter 16: Raid

Chapter 16

Raid

James looked over the scene. Nothing was left. He was shocked. The entire community stable was empty. All the Raptors, Dilophosaurs, Parasaurolophus', Dodos, and Giant Tortoises were gone. There was only one thing it could be: a raid by the Dino Raiders. They were the only hostile tribe they knew of, and they were very well known for capturing and making off with a tribe's dinosaurs and animals.

In the tribe's early days, they had caused quite a bit of trouble, such as the incident with Hijikata. Rhino picked up a stirrup that was on the floor, he glared at it angrily before throwing it down on the ground.

"This is an outrage!" he shouted, "How are we supposed to carry on without our dinosaurs!"

James was just as angry, but he contained his anger to speak some advice, "They didn't take any of the big dinosaurs. Our T-rex's and Spinosaurus' are still safe. We just need to send an emissary to them, and make a treaty."

Rhino looked at James, "You can't bargain with these cutthroats James. They won't listen to reason. Apollo would rather kill you than sign a treaty." James' face was grim.

"Then to war."

James, Shadow and Rhino mounted Tyrannosaurus', figuring this would intimidate the Dino Raiders a bit, and they charged into the jungle. They knew their base was somewhere near where James had tamed Phil, who was also carried off by the Dino Raiders.

After a few hours they reached the gates. There were two guards with spears at the gates wearing full iron body armor.

James spoke loudly from the top of Tyros, "We have come to see your chief!"

The guards looked at each other and yelled back, "What is your business here?"

Rhino shouted angrily, "We have come to see your chief! Let us in, or face the wrath of our Tyrannosaurs. One word and you're dead!"

The two men were smart enough to obey Rhino, and they opened the gate. They rode their Tyrannosaurs in.

Their chief was a man named Apollo. He stood up, wearing iron armor and holding an obsidian spear.

Still on the back of Tyros, James looked into Apollo's eyes. Apollo looked smug, but still had an extremely threatening air to him.

"Apollo," James began, "You know why we've come. You have stolen our dinosaurs. You have broken the boundaries that separate our tribes. I have no intention of starting a war between us. I ask that you return our dinosaurs. All of them. I also ask that you never come near our tribe again. If you do, we will declare war on you. We're more powerful than you think."

Apollo nodded and looked at the ground, "You know, you are the first tribe to actually stand up to me. All the others cower in fear at the mere mention of my name. I like that. However, I will not give you your dinosaurs back. What, do you think I steal them for no reason? I intend to use them. If it takes a war, then it takes a war. I will take over this entire island, what do I care for tribal boundaries? Just as my parents named me after the Greek god, so I will be like him in battle!"

 _'Well,_ ' thought James, ' _he certainly has a high opinion of himself._ '

Rhino took note of how the chief was already mentioning battle, as if he expected it to happen.

Shadow spoke, "Chief Apollo, we see you are strong, but we are as well. We will declare war on you if you don't relinquish our dinosaurs! We don't want a fight, let there be no bloodshed between us, simply give us our dinosaurs back and we will mention it no more."

Apollo laughed, "Do you really think a simple plea will move me? No! Let there be bloodshed if that's what it takes! If you hadn't come here on Tyrannosaurs I would've killed you myself for daring to speak up! I have your dinosaurs, they are mine now! Take them back if you dare. Now leave this village! If you have the audacity to come back, War is what you'll get!"

James, Rhino and Shadow turned back, mounted their T-rex's, and returned to Ark Village to have a meeting with the council.

Before they met with the council, James, Shadow and Rhino all met. James was violently angry. Rhino could hardly speak, and Shadow slammed his fist down on the table.

"I have never heard of anything so-" he didn't finish.

The three men all needed to cool off quite a bit before they could present themselves to the village. Shadow rubbed his eyes and yelled out in frustration. Rhino and Shadow both left, leaving James alone. He heard footsteps in the room. Shira came in the door with a concerned look on her face.

"What happened," she asked.

James was still boiling angry, but seeing Shira had somehow calmed him down a little.

"Their tribe leader stole our dinosaurs, insulted us in every way, and ran us off. We must fight back."

Shira gasped slightly and turned pale.

"Do what? Fight? Tribal War?"

James winced. Her words pierced his heart. She was right. Tribal war. It would be the first time it ever needed to come to blows.

Shira came towards James, "James, is there any other choice? Anything else we could do?"

James shook his head, "No Shira," he said somberly, "There is no other choice. Either we submit to them, or fight back."

Shira stared at the floor before looking back at James, "I understand. Will you meet with the tribe?"

James nodded yes. She slumped down on the ground. James knelt beside her. This was it.

There was a full and angry tribe who met in the Ark Village court. Some were saying to not war and simply retrain new dinosaurs; others had to be forcibly held back from going to the Dino Raiders themselves. James, Rhino, and Shadow all stood.

James spoke first, "Friends! Silence! Be Silent!"

there was still an angry shouting tribe in the court that was approaching a riot at an alarming pace. Suddenly, Tyros roared a bone shaking roar that silenced the tribe immediately. Shadow winked at James, he had taught Tyros to roar when told.

James continued, "Friends, we have lost dinosaurs. Days of work, and for some of you, weeks of work have been stolen. Now, I want to make this village a place of peace where a bunch of lunatics can't destroy your hard work. Now, we have only a few options: stay here and train new dinosaurs, or declare war on the Dino Raiders."

The crowd mumbled to itself, all the men and women thinking of their options.

Shadow spoke, "We may be able to take from their base if we go, we will go at dawn, when they least suspect us. They will suspect us to come at night, and their guard will relax when dawn comes. If we go, we will take back our dinosaurs! We have our Tyrannosaurs and our Spinosaurs. Go, and take back what is ours!"

the mumble became livelier; it seemed the warpath was the way to go.

The men shouted all in unison, "TO WAR!" in a huge yell the size of the whole tribe.

Rhino spoke, "Good! Now, get your weapons, and your steeds and armor, we leave tomorrow at midnight, at that rate we'll reach their base by dawn."

That night, there was a large gathering of about 20 men. The women and children had stayed behind and said their goodbyes. There were four Tyrannosaurs and three Spinosaurs. One man took his Ichthyosaurus and another took his Carnotaurus. The Spinosaurs would be best in the water, and since the Dino Raiders lived near the beach of the ocean, the Spinosaurs would be useful swimmers.

The Dino Raider's base was a spiny fortress, and the inside was a fortified building, with underground networks, with cliffs around the whole perimeter. It was protected, but also enclosed. The Dino Raiders would be trapped. They would enter and kill whatever they found. McClure came around, riding his Sarcosuchus.

He shouted up to James, riding his Spinosaurus, "Are you ready for this James?! I am!"

McClure turned around and raised his fist, "Who is ready to show Apollo who really owns those dinosaurs!?"

There was a gigantic cheer.

 _'At least morale is high…'_ James thought to himself.

They traveled as quietly as a herd of stomping bipedal reptiles can, and by dawn, they came to the base. It had once belonged to the eccentric Setonji, but the Dino Raiders had killed all his dinosaurs and moved in; Set was lucky to escape alive. James' Spinosaurus growled and roared a crocodile-like roar.

The Spinosaurus looked at the wooden gates. The dinosaur shook its massive head before roaring and slamming into them. The gates shuddered and James heard audible creaks. All the other dinosaurs and creatures came. Dinosaurs were roaring, Tyrannosaurs were stomping and smashing their heads into the gates. Smaller dinosaurs scuttled to and fro. It was a swirling, deafening spectacle.

Set was there with James, riding his Sarcosuchus, the only creature that he saved from the Dino Raiders.

Set shouted excitedly, "We fight! I'll take all their orange dinosaurs!"

They began stomping into the gates, taking the Dino Raiders completely by surprise. Spinosaurs and T-rex's poured into the massive courtyard. James' Spinosaurus killed two Pulmonoscorpius', and James dismounted, and so did everybody else, meeting the Dino Raiders who had regrouped.

James yelled and rushed forward with his iron sword. He killed a Dino Raider and began attacking their animals. He saw one of their Spinosaurs kill the Dino Raider's only T-rex. It was utter chaos, men of the Ark tribe attacking the Dino Raiders, Spinosaurs attacking enemy dinosaurs, men attacking enemy saber-toothed cats. T-rex's attacking Dino Raider's Raptors. Set's Sarcosuchus attacked two enemy Saber-toothed Cats and brought them down.

After 20 minutes fighting and battling, all of the Dino Raiders had retreated into the building. All of their enemy dinosaurs killed. All of the Ark tribe's warriors gathered in front of the building. The Spinosaurs roared in victory.

They thought of what to do. All their dinosaurs were in the underground catacombs, which could only be accessed through the inside of the building. It was made of incredibly hard material. Their door was made of solid iron, and not even a Spinosaurus could open it. Spike, Shadow's Spinosaurus, tried busting it down. It didn't budge. There was a window in the building and they could see some of the wounded Dino Raiders on the floor.

James yelled, "There they are! Take their armor as trophies!"

Rhino looked. The door was untouchable, the walls were made of stone, and they couldn't get in. however, Rhino had a secret. He had crafted a bunch of grenades. He brought one out without anybody seeing; he pulled the cord and pitched it at the building. It exploded, cracking some of the rocks in the wall.

James yelled, "What was that!"

Rhino showed him his grenades.

"How did you make gunpowder?!" shouted James.

"A trade secret!" replied Rhino.

They began trying to break the stone with pickaxes, everybody slamming the rock with their club or pickaxe.

Shadow said after a few frustrated minutes, "Ah! This is getting nowhere!"

James replied, "Rhino has grenades, we'll use them to break down the wall."

A Spinosaurus used its bodyweight to slam into the wall. The stones gave ever so slightly. Rhino threw a grenade at the wall. It cracked even further. Then another grenade was thrown. It exploded and small fragments of stone flew everywhere.

"I'll have to craft more!" Rhino shouted, "I have my supplies with me! Use you pickaxes to break down the wall, it may give a bit more now!"

they kept slamming the rock over and over. James jumped and looked at the window. They had a smithy full of unique armor and weapons. Even more incentive to break into their fortress! They kept hacking and hacking the rock, which was crumbling with every single swipe of the picks.

"One thing's for sure," said James, "It's no wonder they were worry free of attack. They built their fortress too well!"

Suddenly, a Dino Raider jumped out of the window and attacked Jason, an Ark tribe member. Jason was caught completely off guard, and was wounded, before Spike the Spinosaurus flung him out of the fortress. They didn't see him after that.

Rhino came up, "I got two grenades!"

He took them and flung them at the already much weakened wall. The stone was nearly gone then. The stones were severely cracked and some were displaced. They kept hacking at the wall and then James called one of the Spinosaurs over. It roared and smashed the wall, which collapsed to the ground. They yelled and swarmed inside. They went for the bodies of the dead Dino Raiders, taking all their armor and anything of worth on their persons.

They plundered the cabinets for armor or useful items, and James found a compass, which could be very useful indeed. There was one Dino Raider hiding underneath one of the beds. He was taken prisoner and his armor and weapons were taken. Rhino stabbed the beds and destroyed them in case any others were hiding.

As he was plundering the smithy, James found a suit of metal armor far superior than his old iron armor. He put them on, along with a blue steel club, far lighter and more durable than his stone one, but more dangerous.

Suddenly from behind him came a shout. It was Apollo.

The Dino Raider glared at James, "You wanted war, and now you shall have it!"

He lunged at James with an iron battle axe. James dodged and slammed his club on Apollo's back.

"You coward!" shouted James, "Why didn't you fight like a man while we were out! Now your men are all dead or imprisoned! You are alone!"

They fought like mad. James swung his club, and Apollo ducked, throwing a chair at him that was in the smithy. James was hit by it and he fell down. Apollo almost sent his battle axe into James' skull, but he rolled over and slammed his solid steel club into Apollo's unprotected kneecaps. Apollo screamed and fell down, the bone broken. Apollo rolled, and swiped with his axe, grazing James' calf muscle. James yelled, but wasn't hurt badly. Apollo tried to get up, but fell back down. James held the club aloft over Apollo's head.

"You have me! I surrender!" Apollo cried.

James was about to reach and help Apollo up when he let open a door adjacent to them. A Raptor lunged out. It was an Alpha Raptor! James yelled in terror, but a grenade sailed into the room from the window. James saw it, and the Raptor did too, he took that second, and turned his back to them, the grenade exploded and Apollo and the Raptor both screamed and fell silent. James' armor had protected him from the blast.

James looked at Apollo. He was covered up by the rubble from the blast, and all he could see was a bloody hand still clutching the battle axe. However, there were still more Dino Raiders in the building, and they still hadn't freed their animals from the underground catacombs. James joined Rhino and Shadow who were breaking down the doors to the underground chambers.

A Tyrannosaurus came up and stomped on the doors, which buckled and came off the hinges. Ark Village stormed into the underground chambers. Ark Village's dinosaurs were all in cages together. They destroyed the locks and opened up the cages. Raptors, Dilophosaurs and other dinosaurs exploded out of the cage, including Phil, who looked less than happy. There was a large metal door leading to the room where the rest of the Dino Raiders were.

Phil, roaring slammed his body into it and brought it crashing to the ground. There were several Dino Raiders in there, but they were quickly taken care of. Soon, all of Ark Village was claiming their own dinosaurs. Victory was theirs.

James was wandering, searching for loot. He found something he wasn't expecting: scuba gear. Though it was of primitive design, it was certainly scuba gear.

Suddenly a Dino Raider appeared out from behind the door. James drew his knife in a flash and put it to the Dino Raider's throat.

"What do you want?" asked James.

The Dino Raider stared at James with raging fury, "We will have our revenge. You know that."

James stared him in the eye, "Well then, I suggest that you formulate a better plan than you did this time. You are the ones that have failed. Apollo is dead. Now, stand right there."

James called to one of the Ark Villager's close by.

"Yes sir!" the villager said.  
James, still with his knife at the Dino Raider's throat, pointed out the door, "Take this man out with the other prisoners."

With that, he led the Dino Raider out of the door. He went back up, and met up with the men all sorting out and finding their dinosaurs. When Phil came up, he sat right down in front of James. James went up to Phil and patted him on the shoulder. Phil grunted and stood up. James managed to find Alan as well.

James signaled the men, and shouted, "Alright men, let's get out of here!"

They had won the fight without losing a single man. Jason would recover fully, only having a flesh wound. James and the rest of the tribe all met up happily. They all had plundered everything and James had gone down into the catacombs and found all their dinosaurs. He brought them up, and after several hours had returned to Ark Village. They locked the animals up in the stables and went to their homes, each of them with their trophies they had earned.

Rhino explained his gunpowder recipe to James. It was a mix of saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal. Rhino had got a new Smilodon, James got a really nice set of armor, and Shadow got a masterfully crafted Tyrannosaurus saddle. Set had been extremely lucky, and had made off with an orange Ankylosaurus.

James was standing outside his house. It was nighttime, and he was putting back the weapons and armor he had plundered from the raid. He heard footsteps come towards him. They weren't heavy footsteps, but light. He knew it was Shira. He stepped out to meet her. He was inside his storage shed. She stepped into the lantern light and looked like she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself. James felt a certain shyness in her behavior.

He smiled at her, "Oh it's you. I heard you coming."

Shira nodded, "I'm glad you're alright."

James still felt uneasy about this. She seemed…he couldn't describe it, something like a terrible dread that was under her skin. It made James walk towards her.

"What's the matter?"

Shira suddenly broke down in tears and, sobbing, she put her arms around James.

"I never thought I'd ever see you again." She said through her tears.

James put his arms around her, and spoke reassuringly, "I'm here and I'm alright. I won't be going anywhere."

He was filled with mixed emotions. Sorrow, happiness, and tenderness were all mixed. His sorrow at having to fight on this island, happiness that he was back safe, they had won, and nobody had been killed. Finally, he felt tenderness towards this wonderful woman who valued him so much.

He held her closer, for longer than usual. He feelings towards her were becoming more and more complex. He had never entertained the thought of romance between them, but he was beginning to wonder if he could. They both stood there for a long time, hoping to God that this would be their last nightmare.


	17. Chapter 17: Cannonball the Doedicurus

Chapter 17

Taming Cannonball the Doedicurus

James woke up refreshed. He went outside and saw David coming towards his house. He met him halfway.

"What's going on?" James asked.

David replied, "Shadow came with a report. He's out exploring, and he came back with a message to tell you."

James raised an eyebrow.

"He told me to tell you he's at the base at Lake Lore training a new creature."

James got suddenly excited, "What is it?"

David responded, "Oh, I can't exactly remember the name…it's dee-do, day-oh, dee-cure—"

James knew what he was talking about, "Doedicurus!"

"Yes," said David, "How do you pronounce it?"

James said back, "Dee-do-cure-us. It's like a giant armadillo with a spikey clubbed tail. I've never seen one before."

"Shadow said he saw it up near the North Hills," said David, "where the Dino Raiders base used to be."

James remembered that memorable battle that happened just a few weeks before.

James inquired, "What did Shadow say about taming it?"

David rattled off some facts and the taming method, "Well first, it can collect stone. Ankylosaurs let you get flint but the Dee-do—whatever… lets you get stone. He said that he fired a bunch of tranquilizer arrows at it, and then when it fell asleep he fed it Rockeroot. Apparently it does something to the thing and it's tame after that. I don't exactly know why."

James was excited. Taming anything was always incredible but taming a whole new creature was even more incredible. He thanked David and went to the castle to collect some supplies.

The castle was coming along great. He needed to add some more roofing but after that it was smooth sailing. He went to visit Clive in his little hut. He was fine. He kept his narcotics in the dodo hut, and he smeared some narcotics on some arrowheads. He was going to take Phil to help tame the Doedicurus. He would also easily kill any enemies along the way.

He went towards the stables, and fed Dennis, his new Dilophosaurus, and then fed Alan, before going to Phil's stall. He mounted, and ran off.

He crossed the bay, and at the opposite shore there was a Triceratops wandering around. Phil saw a dodo walking along the beach. Phil picked up the dodo and threw it over 30 feet away. The dodo, when it landed, squawked a storm before madly waddling off into the bush.

James kept going, but an hour later, he heard a huge roar. It was a wild Tyrannosaurus. Phil roared, and the T-rex charged. Fortunately, it was an adolescent male, and male T-rex's are less aggressive, and smaller than female T-rex's.

The T-rex chomped, and Phil punched the massive predator in the face. Phil kept attacking, roaring and punching. The T-rex bit and kicked. Then, in one mighty punch, Phil slammed its fists into the T-Rex's trachea, killing it. James cheered and Phil punched his chest and roared in victory. James harvested some of the prime meat to eat later.

He left the beach, and went towards the hill next to it. The only thing he saw there was a Sabretooth Cat. Phil made short work of that. He was forced to go back to the beach since a rocky outcrop prevented him from moving forward. He went down to the beach, and on one side was the ocean, and on the other side was a huge cliff, above that was the jungle. This caused a slim stretch of beach that was the only land available to James.

On the beach was a huge herd of Ankylosaurus. They completely blocked the way. James was nervous. This many Ankylosaurs, he counted nine, could be a nasty thing to bump into. Phil roared, trying to clear up the mob. James tried to quiet Phil, but the Ankylosaurs were getting upset. They swung their clubbed tails and bellowed. James was nervous. Nine Ankylosaurs could do a lot of damage.

One of the Ankylosaurs bellowed, swung its tail and charged. The rest of the Ankylosaurs followed, like a herd of angry armored bison. Phil ran away from the herd. He kept going and going. Phil turned and faced them. They kept coming. One of the Ankylosaurs turned around and swung its tail. Phil just dodged it. The others came quick. Phil went in, punching and grabbing. He had to try to outrun them, since killing them would be near impossible with their bony armor. They kept charging while Phil ran away. Any time an Ankylosaurus would come near, Phil would punch its head, which would send it back down a little. He did this to one and it fell back, and ran off. One down, eight to go.

A few more minutes of running and two more trailed off. Six now. Phil turned to face three that had caught up. He punched them all in the head, avoiding a club that almost sailed into his knee. They all turned tail and ran off. Just three more! Those were dealt with when Phil ran into the water. Ankylosaurus can't swim, and they looked at Phil swimming in the water. They all lost interest and left. James wondered if a Doedicurus was worth it.

After finally reaching the Northern Hills he reached a grassy meadow on one of the hills west slopes. There it was! It was an adult Doedicurus being swarmed by three Argentavis'. They were sometimes big enough to carry off a human child, though nowhere near big enough to carry off a Doedicurus.

Phil charged down and the Argentavis' flew off. They'd pick on a Doedicurus but not the Giant Ape. There was also a medium sized Pulmonoscorpius after it. What the appeal was with this Doedicurus James didn't know, but it was a good thing he had such thick armor.

James now had a chance to get a good look at the Doedicurus. It had a short head, and a dome shaped shell, with short cone shaped spikes on the front of the shell. It also had a long plated tail that ended in a sphere shaped club covered in spikes. It looked like quite a deadly creature; like a mammalian Ankylosaurus, which James was fed up with now.

All the sudden came another Argentavis which swooped down from the forest so James mounted Phil, who slapped the giant vulture, which flew off screeching. After taking care of that, he got out his bow and tranquilizer arrows. He took one shot at the Doedicurus', underbelly. The Doedicurus, which had been walking around, started charging James, who carefully stalked away from the creature. It wasn't fast by a long shot, and by jogging away for a bit, he could put distance between him and the Doedicurus. He would then shoot another arrow, and repeat the process until it was brought down.

The arrows kept hitting the hard shell of the Doedicurus, and when the arrows hit the shell they didn't penetrate the flesh, so the narcotics didn't take effect. James kept going, hoping to get a lucky shot somewhere on the soft underbelly. Even if he got a shot on the underneath of the tail, he'd be able to bring it down.

The Doedicurus almost caught up to James when he tripped on a tree branch. The Doedicurus raised its spiked tail and almost slammed it down on James. He shot it with another arrow. They just kept either bouncing off its shell, or penetrating, but not deep enough to allow the narcotics to take effect. He kept firing, and firing, getting frustrated. It was hard to aim well when he was running backwards, stumbling over rocks and tree branches in the field. He couldn't shoot its legs, which were short and stumpy. The tops were armored, so they were almost impossible to get.

He ran away at top speed, turned around, aimed and shot. The Doedicurus stopped, breathed, gasped and fell on the ground, asleep. He cautiously walked over, and looked at his arrow. It had hit in the miniscule crack between the head and shell, pretty much in the shoulder. Now it was down and out.

David had also said that Shadow saw them eating Mejoberries, and there happened to be a Mejoberry bush on the north edge of the field. Unlike his experience with Barry, who had met his untimely end sometime ago, he already had a name for this Doedicurus: Cannonball. It was obvious, and even if it was unoriginal, James liked the name. It fit.

After two and a half hours, he was still waiting. One thing was for sure, when a Doedicurus went down, it stayed down! Phil was busy scratching himself, foraging for berries and fending off the occasional Sabretooth Cat or Argentavis.

James watched over the Doedicurus, until he heard a stomp, then another. He kept hearing them get closer and closer. He got his bow and arrow. Then he heard the roar of the dinosaur he least wanted to hear: a Spinosaurus. He saw it coming over the hill, flexing its hands, but he breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw Shadow come up on his Spinosaurus, Metaljaw. Shadow let down the ladder attached to the saddle and dismounted.

He looked at James, "You got one! What's its name?"

"Cannonball. He'd better wake up soon!"

Then, as if on cue the Doedicurus woke up. James scrambled and got the Rockeroot out of his knapsack, along with some Mejoberries. The Doedicurus ate them, and then suddenly, it bellowed and walked up to James. James scratched its shell, and it did nothing. He had tamed a Doedicurus, and now he mounted. The shell was too round and too smooth to be ridden on. He definitely needed a saddle. Shadow got back up on Metaljaw, who hissed like a crocodile. He threw down a saddle.

"Rhino made several yesterday," said Shadow, "This one's for you."

He put it on the Doedicurus.

He looked back at Shadow who said, "Let's go back!"

James happened to be on the complete other end of the island from Ark Village, and he needed to go all the way back. That might take an entire day, which it did, and after finally getting back to the village he met David and McClure, who both had found their on Doedicurus. James saw they were attacking something, it was an Ankylosaurus. Suddenly Metaljaw the Spinosaurus came crashing over and he killed the Ankylosaurus instead. After that he returned to Ark Village, and went to bed. It had been a long day.

Next day he found Cannonball in the stables, and Shira had come over on her Carnotaurus, Shullershy. Brian, another tribe member, had also come over on his Pteranodon. They challenged James to a Doedicurus race. James gladly accepted. They all three got in position with their Doedicurus', and Rhino held the start flag.

Shira nudged James with a mischievous smile, "May the best racer win!"

James grinned, "I sure hope you trained your Doedicurus well."

Rhino boomed out, "Ready! Set! GO!"

they all three raced on the Doedicurus' and then they did something James would've never expected. They curled up in balls and rolled. James couldn't ride while they did it, but it looked amazing. He ran after Cannonball, which was going the same speed. All the sudden all three of the Doedicurus' were rolling like oversized volleyballs down the beach towards the finish line, while Shira, James and Brian ran after, cheering like madmen. Everybody in Ark Village was watching now, cheering for their own Doedicurus.

To add to the chaos, Metaljaw, who was watching, roared and caused the Doedicurus to stop a bit, before continuing rolling to the finish line. It turned out Brian's blue Doedicurus, Sonic, won. They all cheered, and the prize was a beautiful saddle with gold rings, and leather.

James went up to Shira at the stables, "Well I guess the best racer won."

Shira shook her head, "Always beware of blue animals named Sonic!"

James shook his head and laughed, "Very true." he said.

He looked up at her, and she smiled mischievously, "You know James that was a really nice saddle."

James rolled his eyes, "Alright Shira you don't have to rub it in..."

Shira grinned, "We need to find a better way of racing."

James nodded, "True. Rhino said that he was inventing some sort of sled that we can ride while on the Doedicurus."

Shira raised an eyebrow, "How will it work?"

"Well, at the place where the Doedicurus rolls up, in the middle you could attach a harness that goes through the shell. Right in the middle of the belly. It would be a great improvement."

"Well hopefully it'll be here before next race."

James nodded, "They should be."

Rhino came up, nodded disapprovingly, and looked at Shira.

"Shira I thought you had it there for a while. Did you let Brian win?"

Shira gave a mischievous smile and gently elbow nudged Rhino.

Rhino laughed, "Well I'm back to the workshop for that new Doedicurus sled. I'll see you two around."

James waved and so did Shira.

"You didn't really let him win," said James, "did you?"

Shira looked at James, "How could I? You're not riding them when you race. It's a dice cast if you win or not, just depending on the track and how well-trained your Doedicurus is."

James nodded, that was true enough.

"That settles it!" said James, "I'm not racing one more time until I perfect the sled idea."

Shira nodded, "Go for it."

James thought for a moment, "I'll draw up the blueprints and Rhino could build it."

There was a long pause. Shira looked at the ground and made markings in the dirt with her shoe.

James looked at her, "A penny for your thoughts?"

Shira chuckled and kept looking at the ground before letting out a long sigh.

"I just want to thank you for what you said that night after the raid."

James nodded, "Don't think about it."

"But I do." Said Shira, "I was so scared. I couldn't bear the thought of never seeing you again."

James nodded.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" asked Shira.

"Shira please!" said James "I don't want you to do anything for me." Without realizing, James held both her hands. Shira looked at James, who let go slowly. Shira smiled and they looked into each other's eyes.

James paused, "Why don't you come over to my house. I could use a breather after that race and I'm sure you could too."

Shira nodded, "Alright."

With that, they went off, James still wondering in the back of his mind if Shira rigged the race or not…


	18. Chapter 18: The Dodo Farm is Born

Chapter 18

The Dodo Farm is Born

James' plans were finally realized. He had planned for weeks of building a dodo farm. He could build quite the tycoon on dodo eggs, or by selling the birds themselves. He had spent several weeks building a large enclosure, and now it was finished. The dodo farm was born! It was a real, working, dodo egg farm. He just needed a sign, and he would make that soon. For now, he needed some dodos. He had Clive, and he had built a special house for him inside the egg farm.

He did have a sign that said, _"Inquire within about purchases"._ He went inside, and admired his own handiwork. It had been a team effort, Shadow, Rhino, McClure and David had helped. There were some other dodos inside, but not quite enough to make a surplus of eggs. Besides, if somebody were to buy a dodo, an egg source went out the door, but he would only sell dodos for a high price. There was a pink dodo named cotton candy, and James said hello to her. He refilled their feeding trough, which was only filled with the finest Mejoberries. Dodos love Mejoberries more than any other berries.

There was a black dodo named Lofita, a grey dodo named Boxy, and a light brown dodo named Copper. At the back of the farm was compost, where he would put the dodo dung, or spoiled Mejoberries. Over time the compost would create some very nutritious fertilizer. He had plans to put berry plots or Rockeroot plots to create more dodo food on the farm itself, so he didn't have to go out and gather berries.

With only four dodos in the farm, there weren't many eggs. Stocks were low, and besides, Boxy was a male. He needed to go find some more dodos using his Pteranodon, and just as he was about to get on, he saw a wild dodo just outside the farm. He ran over, but it was a male. No use to him.

He needed to move Clive from his little hut outside the farm to the hut in the dodo farm. He went back outside the farm and saw, on the slope below the dodo farm towards Ark Village, two dodos. He landed the Pteranodon and checked the gender. They were both female! One was a copper color, and the Pteranodon picked it up gently in its claws before carrying it to the dodo farm, and dropping it in. James looked back to see it waddling around before settling down. Next he went after the other one. There was also another male near the female he was going for. It was light blue with a pink head. He didn't bother going after male dodos.

When he looked around he saw there were actually more dodos than he thought; maybe five. He picked up the one he knew was a female. It was blue with a white head.

As he went out again, he saw David, Brian, and Shadow all working on the Doedicurus racetrack. They planned on having a massive festival with the official opening of the village's first egg farm. There would be fireworks, and a huge Doedicurus race with everybody in the tribe that had one. The prize was a new saddle. It was red with gold rings, and when James saw it in the village court, he was set on winning it.

A few hours and two female dodos later, Brian came up to the farm on his Pteranodon.

He had his monkey on his shoulder, "Alright James, Doedicurus race starts in a few minutes! You ready?"

James nodded, "The track's finished right?"

Brian nodded, "You'd better get Cannonball ready. You're going to eat Sonic's dust! Just like last time!"

James huffed, "Easy mate, I've been training Cannonball!"

Brian huffed himself, "Same here! To the track!"

Shadow had come to watch. The track had been completed earlier in the day, and the whole village was watching, eager for the festivities to start. The track was huge. It started on the west side of the village, just across the inlet, close to the dodo farm. It then went down the slope, down a cliff which the Doedicurus would have to jump, then it went across the grass towards the beach. The whole track was horseshoe shaped, and after going from the grass it led down to the beach. It followed the beach, before going into very shallow water, which was the evening-the-odds point. After that it went right next to Ark Village, before ending at the ocean's edge. It was about a mile long.

James had trained Cannonball for roller races, where the Doedicurus rolls into a ball, and goes as fast as it can to the finish line. James had also noticed that Cannonball had a bit of competitive spirit about him. He was anxious to win the saddle!

Tom lifted the flare gun in the air. Brian and James were set with Cannonball and Sonic.

Tom shouted, "Three! Two! One! Go!"

All the sudden Cannonball and Sonic morphed into armored balls and rushed down the track. James, Brian and Tom all ran behind, shouting for their mounts. Cannonball was in the lead. James cheered while suddenly, Sonic came rushing ahead. They each plummeted down the 10 foot cliff and kept rolling. Then, the beach. Sonic slowed down a bit, and Cannonball rolled ahead.

When they got to the water, Sonic stopped, unrolled and looked. Cannonball, who had been trained to work in water, plowed ahead as if he was still on dry land. Sonic then rolled back up and tried to gain lost ground. The track near Ark Village rolled into view. People started cheering like mad, some shouting for Cannonball, others for Sonic. The finish line was in sight. Sonic was gaining but Cannonball was still far ahead. Then, Cannonball crossed, unrolled and bellowed. James threw his fist in the air and cheered.

At the end of the race, Brian and James shook hands, and Shadow presented the new saddle. It was beautifully crafted by Rhino. It was white, with red racing stripes and gold rings for the joints. This was Cannonballs racing saddle. Brian and James put their Doedicurus in the stable. James went over to see Sonic. He was black, with dark blue flecks and spots. Cannonball was a bit more down to earth grey and brown.

Brian met with James in the stables, "Good race," said Brian.

James chuckled, "Yes it was. Now we're even."

The fireworks would be the next event, but it was still only afternoon, so the villagers visited and ate. Several people had come up to buy eggs, and James was sold out by the end of a few hours. Every time a dodo laid an egg he went inside to get it, and it was sold while it was still hot in his hand.

He was busy trying to tame the other two dodos, and after feeding them some Mejoberries, they were tame as a kitten. Dodos were one of the easiest animals to tame on the island.

Tom came up to the door, "Are you accepting any internships here?"

James smiled, "Sorry Tom, I have all the help I need. But here," he handed Tom a dodo egg, "Thanks for your help with the race."

Tom smiled and went back to enjoy his dinner. James suddenly realized he did need some help.

Tom was down the hill a bit and James shouted to him, "Hey Tom!"

Tom turned back, "Yeah?"

"I could use your help! I need to get Clive from his hut to the dodo farm!"

Tom jogged back up, "Sure I could do that."

Clive was James' first dodo. He was completely grey and if he ever needed to breed dodos Clive would be his "rooster". Come to think of it, there were no gender names for dodos, so James called the males roosters and the female's hens.

Tom went into the hut. James watched. The hut was close to the dodo farm, where James kept Clive, and some other supplies for the farm. Clive could now live in the farm, so the hut would probably become a storage shed for the farm. He lured Clive out with some Mejoberries, and led him into the farm. Then he was led right into his new hut in the dodo farm.

He paid Tom two eggs, which he was very happy to get, since dodo eggs were his favorite food on the island. After that he named his two new dodos. The brown one he named Bertha, and the white headed one he simply named, White-Head.

He went back to the village. It was getting towards evening, and the fireworks would start to go off. Rhino never ceased to amaze James. He had not only figured out how to make gunpowder from the raw materials of the island, but to make them colored as well. This was going to be a great show.

He met Rhino on top of the Ark Village Great Hall, and he was testing the fireworks before setting them all off. He pointed the rocket up to the air, and with a shrieking whistle the whole thing flew into the air. It exploded in a gleaming shower of green, which then gently fell like emeralds to the ground.

James clapped, and Rhino grinned, "Who's ready for the show?"

When nightfall came, the whole village came into the square. Rhino had all the rockets on top of the roof of the Great Hall. The village shouted the countdown, "Three! Two! One! Start the festival!" When that was shouted, he set off the first firework. It boomed into a vivid blue explosion, followed by green, red, and purple. They all cheered, in celebration of James' dodo farm.

The explosions kept on coming. Boom! Bang! The entire village was illuminated with color. The dinosaurs were staring up into the night. Then Spinosaurs and T-rex's started roaring. Not a vicious battle cry but a gentle, deep groan of pleasure. The fireworks kept exploding and raining light into the night, before the sparks floated down to the ground like gems.

Shira came up beside James and sat down next to him. James smiled as she looked up into the glittering spectacle.

She looked at James, "It's been so long since I've seen fireworks."

James smiled and put his arm around her. She smiled warmly and looked at James, then back at the sky. More sparking booms and explosions. It was a night James and the village would always remember.


	19. Chapter 19: Alpha Carnotaurus

Chapter 19

Alpha Carnotaurus

Shira came and pounded on James' door.

"James!" she shouted.

James came out and looked at her. She had a scared look in her eye.

"What is it?" asked James.

"An Alpha Carnotaurus!" Shira said, worried, "I saw it stalking around the forest just across the Lake from the village! It's heading closer to the houses."

James nodded, "I'll take care of it. Don't worry."

An Alpha Carnotaurus? In all the time he'd been here he'd only ever seen Alpha Raptors. But an Alpha Carnotaurus?! Carnotaurus were big predators, smaller than T-rexes or Spinosaurs but much bigger than Raptors. He'd never seen an Alpha Carnotaurus, but it was certainly a deadly monster. He decided to take Phil. Phil was able to hold his own against juvenile Tyrannosaurus, and he could probably take on an Alpha Carnotaurus.

Phil ran across the beach, and as he approached the crossing point, he saw the silhouette of a monstrous Carnotaurus in the forest. It had a haunting orange glow around it. Alpha dinosaurs are characterized by strange bioluminescent glow. He crossed the river without any problems, and then saw the Carnotaurus making a retreat into the jungle, since its glow disappeared. Phil walked into the Jungle. The glow appeared again. James guided Phil towards the monster. It was attacking a dodo. It swallowed the dodo and Phil came up from behind and slapped its flank.

The Alpha Carnotaurus roared loudly and turned on Phil, who started quickly running away. He rushed out of the forest and back to the Lake shore, where there was more space for battle. It crashed out of the forest with its head lowered, its bright white horns ready to smash into whatever came in its way. While a regular Carnotaurus could usually be outrun by Phil, this Alpha Carnotaurus caught up to James and Phil very quickly. Phil roared and so did the Alpha Carnotaurus.

Like a barroom brawler, Phil punched and slapped the Carnotaurus, doing considerable damage with his huge muscular hands. Phil kept slamming and punching. James told Phil to run and the ape ran alongside the beach. Running behind was the Alpha Carnotaurus, who was gaining on them. Then, it overtook them. Phil attacked, punching and ripping. Blood was all over the Alpha Carnotaurus. Phil was also injured in the flank. The Carnotaurus kept kicking and swinging its head, swiping with its horns.

The Alpha Carnotaurus tried to bite Phil, but Phil grabbed the Theropod's jaws with his bare hands, and ripped the Carnotaurus' jaw open. This finally brought down the beast for good. Before harvesting the Carnotaurus, he mounted Phil and rode him back to Ark Village. He knocked on Shira's door. She answered and he told her what happened.

"Shira!" said James.

Shira opened her door and breathed a sigh of relief, "James, what happened?"

James took out two blood red horns from his satchel.

Shira's eyes widened "You killed it?"

James nodded.

"Shira, I need your help harvesting it. There's all kinds of prime meat on it."

Shira nodded, "Sure," she responded, "I'll get on my Ichthyosaur and we can harvest it."

When they came to the carcass, Shira gasped.

"That thing is huge!"

Indeed it was. It was only a bit smaller than a Tyrannosaurus. She looked at it. It wasn't sparking now that it was dead.

"It's so red!" she said in awe.

Shira looked back at James, "Are there any other types of Alpha dinosaurs?"

"Yes. When I tamed Phil I fought an Alpha Raptor, and Shadow said that there's a legend among the Rockarts of an Alpha Tyrannosaurus rex."

Shira shivered, "Are they tamable?"

James violently shook his head, "Oh no, no, no! They're far too deadly. As soon as this thing caught wind of me it was bent on killing me. What did you do when you first saw it?"

"I just saw something that looked like it was on fire. Sparks were flying everywhere but when I got closer I saw that it was a huge Carnotaurus. I had no idea it was so huge. It was too far away to notice me, so I ran off to you to warn you, and here it is."

James harvested its prime meat.

"Shira, can I get on your Ichthyosaur and go back to cave with her?"

Shira nodded, "I'll take Phil back."

"Thanks Shira, just make sure he doesn't get tired. Take him to Rhino to help his wound."

A few hours later, Rhino had healed Phil's wound, and James returned on Shira's Ichthyosaur. He went to the outdoor kitchen and cooked some of the prime meat. He gave some to Shira, and stored the rest in the ice cooler. He then went towards his Pteranodon, and mounted it. He was going out to find more dodos for Clive's Egg Farm. All he needed were female dodos to make eggs to eat.

The egg farm was about a quarter mile away from Ark Village. He directed the Pteranodon towards a female dodo, then he picked it up lightly in the Pterosaur's claws, flew above the farm enclosure, and dropped it in. James would only allow his most trusted friends to watch over the farm, or drop dodos in.

He set up the dodo farm like a fort. He saw Tom trying to wrangle some dodos to get access to the farm. He flew back and grabbed another dodo, and then put it in the farm.

When he dismounted the Pteranodon, he found Tom at the entrance with five dodos. James smiled,

"What brings you here today"

Tom smiled, "Would you be interested in these five female dodos?"

James nodded, "Your asking price?"

"Some metal and flint."

"You have a deal."

He paid Tom and let in the new dodos. James' monkey, lil' Phil scurried over and climbed on James' shoulder.

"Hey there little guy," said James, chuckling, "Where've you been?"

He had tamed lil' Phil, a type of monkey called Mesopithecus, only a week before.

He went back into the farm, and looked it over. The improvement he wanted to add this time was a well. He could use either a well or a stone tank to water the berry patches he'd put inside the farm to feed his dodos. The dodos could also drink from it.

On the top of the dodo coop he put the stone reservoir, and attached a stone irrigation pipe down from it. Alison the Triceratops was only a short way away, and James rode her over and put some water carriers on the saddle. After a few trips back and forth from Lake Lore, the water reservoir was filled up.

He lifted the latch to let water go down the pipes. It poured out of the taps and onto the ground.

James laughed, "That's awesome! You dodos have some water now!"

The dodos came over to investigate, some drinking from the puddles that had formed on the ground. The reservoir could also collect rainwater, and he wouldn't need to fill it up often since it rained frequently in the rainforest they lived in.

A day later, he built a spikey wood wall to protect the dodo farm. He also put some narcotic tripwires around it, which would knock out anybody who inhaled the scentless fumes. Shadow said it was the most protected dodo farm in the world. He was probably right. He also added a large wooden sign and painted, _"Welcome to Clive's Egg Farm."_ He nailed the sign up and sighed. Now he had a sign.

He looked behind him and saw David's Apatosaurus. It was browsing on leaves, wearing the huge saddle David had plundered from the Dino Raiders. He ran back to Ark Village, saying hello to Shadow on the way, and he dropped off the paint he used in the Storage building. They housed the fabricator they plundered from the Dino Raiders in there. The fabricator could produce mechanized items, and gasoline from crude oil, which was in abundance in the area.

He saw Lil' Phil there hooting and looking at the cooking pot in the room. James picked him up and put him on his shoulder. He opened a storage cabinet he used for a gardening plot he wanted to put in the dodo farm. He had put in an irrigation system yesterday, and he was going to put a Rockeroot plot there for the dodos to eat from.

He headed back to the farm and looked at the plots he had made. He had picked up Rockeroot seeds at the storage building and scattered them around the plots. Water was steadily trickling down into the plots, and watering the seeds. He had planted Rockeroot to create dodo kibble, which needed dodo eggs, raw meat and Rockeroot. Rockeroot was a type of root with a bitter taste to humans, but dodos loved it. It was going quite well indeed. He had also got Mejoberry seeds to plant in another plot. He went towards his new addition.

In a separate small building that looked like an outhouse, there was a refrigerator, thanks to the fabricator from the Dino Raiders. There were dodo eggs, cooked meat and Mejoberries in there, which was what the dodos ate. James had another fridge in his house.

Just then, Shadow came in the door.

He knelt down and picked up a dodo egg, "You missed this one!"

James chuckled and put it in the fridge.

"What do you need buddy?" James asked Shadow.

"Nothing," he said, "Just out exploring with Ronen. I've been looking for an Alpha Dinosaur, to see if I can tame it."

James chuckled to himself at the mention of an Alpha.

"I just killed an Alpha Carnotaurus across Lake Lore yesterday."

Shadow laughed, "I'm not out for something that big. If I could just tame an Alpha Raptor we'd have new and better dinosaurs."

"It would, but it may not happen. I don't think you can train an Alpha Raptor."

Shadow looked around, "I'm just bored is all. We've tamed every new creature within a forty mile radius. I miss the thrill of taming a new creature, especially something like a Spinosaurus. I just don't feel it anymore."

James thought for a moment of an interesting creature, "There are always aquatic creatures. You don't have one that I know of. Go out on one of my Ichthyosaurs and tame a Plesiosaur or something."

Shadow thought that sounded like a good idea. He thanked James and rode off.

He left his farm and went down to Ark Village. He went to Brian's dodo farm, which was simply attached to his house. It was guarded by his Pulmonoscorpius named Big Slave. There were about 10 dodos inside. Brian wasn't in, so James took his eggs and put them in Brian's fridge. Brian had formed what he called an "egg alliance", where he would sell James dodo kibble In exchange for eggs. He would then sell the eggs to other tribe members for random supplies he needed.

James left and mounted his Mammoth named Mr. Moss. He was going out on a run to get some Mejoberries for the dodos to eat. He was just getting on when he saw somebody's body on the ground. It was Tom. He wasn't dead, he was unconscious. James dismounted and ran over. Tom appeared to have been punched in the face judging by a nice black eye. James supposed somebody was after his dodos. James was able to get him to wake up.

"What happened to you Tom?" asked James.

Tom groaned, "Some…tribesman…I don't remember who, tried to steal my dodos. When I denied them he threw a sucker punch and that was it. My dodos are gone."

James sighed, "We'll find the tribesman. How many dodos dis you lose?"

"Six."

"I'll look into it. Go ahead back to your house and rest."

Tom nodded and walked off.

James walked back to his house and saw Shira riding her Carnotaurus Shullershy. James waved, and Shira waved back before riding off into the jungle. James decided to follow her. He mounted Alan and rode over.

"Shira!" shouted James.

Shira looked over her shoulder, and stopped Shullershy. They both met in a small clearing in the forest. He looked at her. She smiled as she brushed away some black hair from her face.

"Hello James," she said cheerfully, "I was just going riding for a bit. It's a lovely day. Is there something you need?"

James had grown quite fond of Shira over the past months, more so every day. They both dismounted and walked towards each other.

"No," he replied, "I just wanted to talk with you a bit. I've been so busy with the farm and I just wanted a bit of time alone."

She nodded, "Yes you have been busy with it."

Alan barked a friendly call to Shira, who smiled and petted the Raptor's muzzle.

Shira looked at James, "You know, there's a lovely little spot near Lake Lore that we could go to."

James nodded, "Let's go."

When they reached the spot, James sat down. It was a cliff about 30 feet above the beach. She sat down and they talked for a bit. Shira then got a bit more somber.

She looked down at the ground, "James, since we've been on the island you've helped me to heal. I feel like I could trust you with my life, and you should know why I was so depressed when I first arrived…and while I was still at the ESC."

James shook his head, "It's alright Shira if you don't want to tell me-"

"But I do." said Shira, "It had to do with my brother. Ever since I could remember he was always dreaming of becoming an explorer. And later when my father befriended the president of the ESC, my brother wanted so badly to get a position there."

"Where did you grow up? I don't know too much about your childhood."

"I was born in Israel. My name Shira is a Jewish name meaning song. My dad loved to sing, he actually had a job as a radio jockey before he went to college. He was such a happy man, you would've loved to meet him. Anyway, my brother Jonathan worked really hard to get a position in the ESC, but he ended up meeting a man named Kenneth Bridger. He was a bad person and I knew it. He had charisma though, and Jonathan began to spend more and more time with him. I never liked him."

"Why not?"

"He was just a conniver. He had multiple branches that trafficked drugs and illegal wares. The police were never able to get leads firm enough to convict him. Jonathan ended up getting more and more corrupted by Adam until one day, he ended up embezzling from his employer. He was caught and sentenced, and then while he was in prison Adam took the position in the ESC that Jonathan had worked so hard for."

James frowned. He had met Bridger a few times, though he had been removed from the Society several years before they crashed on the Ark.

"When he came back from prison he went home. Oh, my dad was so angry with him. They had a terrible fight with each other, just shouting back and forth. My dad was so disappointed, and Jonathan was both ashamed, and angry, but anger began to take over. He became a very bitter man. Later, he left us without a goodbye, and I didn't see him again."

James was saddened by Shira's story, but it explained some things James had always wondered about her. A small tear formed in Shira's eye.

"It's alright Shira."

She nodded, "I was so depressed when I was in the ESC, and on our early times on the island because I blamed myself for what happened to Jonathan. I kept thinking to myself that I didn't do enough to stop their relationship, I should've put a stop to it and nipped it in the bud while I still could've. I was just so angry with myself and with Jonathan, even though I wouldn't admit it. I felt so useless, which is why I kept ducking out and hiding from everyone."

She paused. James looked out into the lake shore and saw an Ichthyosaurus jump out of the water like a dolphin.

Shira continued, "Anyway, when you told me that we were meant to be here, and your encouragement besides, I began to rethink what I had thought. I had a purpose here, and I wasn't a useless human being after all. I hope Jonathan has come to the right way, but right now, you've taught me to be content with what I have now."

James smiled at Shira.

"Thank you James."

James put his arm around her, and they looked into the lake.

The next day James captured and tamed a Dilophosaurus. It would be a present to Setonji, for his base. It was bright orange, with a white frill. He went back on Mr. Moss, the mammoth, which he had meant to do yesterday before he was interrupted by finding Tom on the ground. The mammoth uprooted an entire berry bush. James had put a huge cloth tarp down connected to each tusk on the mammoth. Berries flooded into the tarp, collecting in heaps. After a bit longer, he took all the berries and put them in the dodo farm. He also put fertilizer in the garden plots and gathered the dodo eggs on the floor before putting them in the farm fridge. After visiting the storage building and dropping off some odd objects in his knapsack, James went outside and saw Rhino coming over. He asked for some dodo eggs in exchange for some narcoberries. They swapped, and Rhino went off to fry his eggs, and James went to create some narcotics from the Narcoberries.

The next day James decided to explore some of the underwater areas near Ark Village on his Ichthyosaur, Echo. Echo was extremely fast and after donning his oxygen tanks he found at the Dino Raiders base, he dove down to the depths. He went down to the murky depths; far down he had seen what looked like a cave. He wanted to be certain though.

He got up and under a huge rock, and sure enough, it was a cave. There was a bright white glow coming from inside the cave. It was a huge crystal. There were also silica pearls growing on rocks. He picked the pearls up with his hands and used his pickaxe to gently snap the crystals from off the rocks they were on. He went around picking and grabbing, knowing these would fetch a pretty penny back at Ark Village.

James wondered how incredible it would be to live in one of these kinds of underwater caves. James wouldn't do it, but some people might. He got back on the Ichthyosaur and went back underwater. On the way out, the Elasmosaurus came from around the corner. Echo swam off as fast as he could, which was very fast, away from the needle-sharp teeth of the Elasmosaurus. They kept swimming for a short time until they reached Ark Village. James took his treasure, hid it in the house, and as it was getting dark, checked the farm, fed his animals and went to bed.

Next day he returned to the fridge where he had put the meat from the Alpha Carnotaurus. As he took some out for a quick taming mission, he wondered if there were any other Alpha dinosaurs out there.

Certainly they were extremely rare, but if there were any others, how dangerous were they, what species did they manifest in, and could they be tamed? This intrigued James the most. Alpha dinosaurs were indeed incredibly dangerous, but most people would assume that Alpha Spinosaurs or T-rex's were too deadly to be tamed. He knew it was Shadow's newest obsession. Shadow had wondered for ages if Alpha dinosaurs could be tamed, but had never gone in search of one for fear of them.

James certainly didn't want anything to do with them, Rhino treated them like dangerous rats or mice, and Shira was terrified of them. Even if one of them could be tamed, James doubted whether he'd ever fully trust it. Like a Rottweiler off the street. You never really want to get too close even if it's adopted and seems friendly enough. With that, he mounted Alan and made for the jungle. Hopefully he'd be able to bring back a Carnotaurus. If not, maybe a Raptor. This was the wonderful part of living on the island, you were free as a bird.


	20. Chapter 20: Taming the Mosasaurus

Chapter 20

Taming the Mosasaurus

James was sitting along the beach. He loved watching the waves roll along the shore. As he was watching he saw something jump out of the water a long, long way out. He wondered what it was. He took out his spyglass to see exactly what it was if it jumped out again. It did, and James was speechless when he saw it.

It had a gigantic head, and a colossal body. It looked like it had sharp teeth, and enormous front flippers. Yes, it was what he thought it was: a Mosasaurus. This apex predator of the seas was previously undiscovered on the island.

James rushed to the village to tell his friends. As luck would have it, Rhino, Shadow, McClure and David were all out exploring with their Raptors, since none of their Raptors were in the stable. This left only one person James could trust completely: Shira. She had a knack for training large animals. She had trained a Spinosaurus and a T-rex singlehandedly. James knew he wouldn't rather tame it with anybody else.

After explaining the situation to Shira, she got just as excited as he was, and could barely be restrained from going out there. James went to the storage room and picked up some scuba gear. He had an entire scuba outfit, which he had gotten from the Dino Raiders. He also took his crossbow, and over 100 tranquilizer arrows. Figuring that the Mosasaur would take a huge amount of narcotics he took a huge amount: over 700 units.

They both had a meal before they left, some chowder, which James had made the night before. Each had just taken their first spoonful when Shira's face donned a look of disgust.

"What's the matter?" asked James.

"The chowder," she said, "It tastes like peanuts."

"Like what?" asked James confused.

"The chowder," she retorted again, "I don't know what you did but it tastes like peanuts. You may not have known but I hate peanuts…"

James was still dumbfounded. There wasn't a single peanut on the island that he knew of. Oh well. Shira chose some Mejoberries to eat instead.

They met back up near James' castle. Shira took Algae, her green Ichthyosaurus, and James took his Ichthyosaur, Echo. They also took along their Megalodon, Watermelon, if anything got out of hand. This was the first time James had used the scuba gear. It was much easier to see, breathe and move underwater. They decided to go near the treasure cave. It was deep, and that was where he thought he saw the Mosasaur.

It was deep and dark where he was. Underwater exploration was hard, and James had hardly explored any of the deep areas apart from this small area. He would retreat into the cave if the Mosasaurus attacked. This may well be the most deadly creature on the island. James wondered how such a monstrous creature could remain undiscovered for so long. Maybe it migrated here. His Ichthyosaur wandered the depths while James scanned the horizon. Shira followed closely.

They looked around for half an hour, and then James saw something in the water. He pointed it out to Shira, who did thumbs up. They swam over, thinking it was an Elasmosaurus. It was the Mosasaurus, and it was absolutely enormous. He gasped inside his suit.

Shira called over, "It's huge!"

The only downside with the scuba gear was that they had to be really close to each other to talk. The Mosasaurus saw them. It opened it 70 foot long mouth and roared, sending shockwaves ripping through the water. James was stunned. How were they supposed to tame this leviathan? The Mosasaur started swimming towards James. He yelled in terror and Echo swam away at top speed. The Mosasaur was following them. Shira and James were both speeding towards the treasure cave.

Suddenly James was separated from Shira. Algae had swum over to the oil fields. James kept racing towards the cave, with the Mosasaurus rapidly gaining on him. He tore into the cave, Echo almost leapt out of the water. James breathed heavily, but went back out to find Shira.

The Mosasaur was heading away from the cave at alarming speed. Was it chasing Shira? James saw Algae darting around, zig-zagging in front of the Mosasaur's mouth. The Mosasaurus was too slow to get a bite on the Ichthyosaur. James tried to lure the Mosasaur away from Shira. He darted towards the creature's massive head. It turned and came for James. He rushed away, as he saw Shira making a break for the cave. They each met at the cave. There was a large air pocket inside the cave, and the two clambered out of the water.

Shira was white as a sheet , "James. I don't know if we should do this. Is it really worth our lives?"

James was also pale, but he nodded, "It's OK Shira. We're safe in here. The Mosasaur is way too big to even hope getting in the cave. Not even a Megalodon could get in, and the Mosasaur is almost five times the Megalodon's size."

They waited for about 20 minutes inside the cave. James had no idea how this Mosasaur got so big. The Mosasaurs that had been found in the fossil record back home reached about 50 feet maximum. This Mosasaurus was far, far bigger at about 400 snaky feet long. Most of the length was in the tail, and body. The head was unbelievably huge, nearly 60 feet long. James believed that this was a species of Mosasaurus that still remained unknown in the fossil record, or it only lived here on the Ark.

The Mosasaur was still there, refusing to leave. He was probably on the Mosasaurus' territory, and this was angering an animal the size of a battleship. After an hour being trapped in the cave, James took a peek outside. The Mosasaur had gone. Apparently its patience had run out. James plucked up and formulated a plan. Shira thought about it, and agreed.

He would lure the Mosasaur back to the cave, and then make an attempt to get it to try get the Mosasaur to stick its head in the cave entrance. If he did that, the Mosasaur wouldn't be able to attack them, and he could shoot it with his tranquilizer arrows. If he knocked it out, they could begin taming it. He figured he'd try to tame it the same way you tamed most other animals. Knock it out, feed it, and then when it fully wakes up it's tame.

Without any warning Echo darted out of the cave. James shouted for him to come back, but he didn't come. James went to see where he went. Echo was darting around the Mosasaur, dangerously close to the beast's mouth. Then Echo darted back to Ark Village. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Now Echo was gone, and they only had one Ichthyosaur. He wondered where Watermelon the Megalodon went, probably hiding somewhere.

He swam out on Algae, the Mosasaur was following Echo back to the village. That was the place James least wanted him to go to. He went up to the Mosasaur and shot it with a tranquilizer arrow. It turned around and saw James. It turned, roared like a colossal underwater T-rex, and began charging. Algae made a break for the cave. The plan was working. James lured it to the cave mouth, and it stuck its head in, but couldn't go any further.

James dove into the water from the cave and shot an arrow. The Mosasaurus bellowed and tried to worm its way into the cave, but all that it did was jam itself. You could only see half of its monstrous jaws. He shot tranquilizer arrows constantly. The Mosasaur roared in frustration and pain. James new he'd need to shoot it with a load of arrows to give it enough narcotics to knock it out. The formula for the narcotics he used on these arrows was enough to knock out a Carnotaurus in one shot. He shot again, and again.

100 tranquilizer arrows later and he had used both his and Shira's arrows. The Mosasaur roared, and swam out of the cave. Would it be knocked out? James waited about 10 minutes, and then went back out on Algae. He saw the Mosasaurus about 500 yards away. It didn't swim, it just hung there.

With extreme caution James went towards it. It didn't do anything. He took some prime meat out of his pack and held it out. If it was awake, the Mosasaur would perk up immediately at the smell of it. All you had to do with a Spinosaur to wake it up was to hold some prime meat to its nose. The Mosasaurus did nothing. It was knocked out. When he got close he knew it. It was limply hanging in the water, its head down, and its tail along the sea floor.

Now he would tame it by feeding it prime meat while it was too tired to do anything. This could take a long time. He needed to keep the Mosasaurus asleep for as long as possible. He gave kept giving it steady doses of narcotics. It kept eating the prime meat James gave it. if luck held out, the Mosasaur would remain asleep, and he could tame it without a hitch.

They found Watermelon lazily heading towards Ark Village. They brought it back, James riding it. He didn't bother going back for Echo, so he headed back to the Mosasaur. Shira was keeping watch and feeding it narcotics and prime meat. At least it was staying asleep. If it woke up, it would be a worst-case scenario. But no, it was still bobbing up and down with the current, anchored by its massive tail.

Shira swam over to James, "Well, its tranqed. What now?"

"We wait."

After three hours of monotony, feeding the Mosasaurus prime meat and narcotics, it still wasn't tamed. It kept bobbing up and down in the water. James had heard from an old story told by the Rockarts which told of their ancestors taming Mosasaurs, but they had supposedly gone extinct from off the island. They had tamed it by feeding it prime meat and narcotics, just like what James and Shira were doing, and that you could tell if it was tamed when it did nothing to you when it woke up. Only the most experienced tribesman ever rode the beast, and that in an underwater battle they were unstoppable.

He looked at it. He couldn't get over how enormous the creature was. He could be unstoppable in the water with this thing. If it could go on land, which it couldn't, it would be the most destructive creature on the planet. At least it held the most destructive creature in the water. They took out more prime meat and fed it to the creature.

Shira went up to James and said sadly, "We could've tamed so many Spinosaurs!"

Three more hours later, and the Mosasaurus was still asleep, and they were feeding it prime meat and narcotics, desperate for something, anything, to happen. It was getting to the point where they were almost tempted to wake it up and see if it was tamed. No, wait and keep feeding it. Better safe than sorry. More prime meat, more sleep inducing narcotics, more waiting.

It was getting dark, and since James and Shira had been in the water for so long, they were getting tired and claustrophobic. The constant squeeze of the deep water pressure was taking its toll on the two of them. They had been forced to leave the water in shifts for several minutes to off-gas some of the excess nitrogen in their bodies. The darkness of evening wasn't helping matters. The water was constantly glowing with the silica pearls growing on the sea floor, but it was a harsh, cold, white light, not the warm, soft glow of sunlight. At least it wasn't pitch black.

Another two hours and they had run out of prime meat and narcotics. It was time to awaken the beast. James prayed and they woke it up. Several seconds of tenseness, waiting to either book it for the cave, or share a victory yell over the villages' first tamed Mosasaur. It stared at them…and didn't attack.

"Yes!" yelled James.

They had done it! They had tamed a Mosasaurus. He went over to it. It didn't eat him like a wild one would. It began slithering around the water and strangely it turned to follow James. He could hardly believe such a monster would follow him. He gave it some regular meat, which it ate. He mounted Watermelon, and started making for the village.

The villagers could hardly believe their eyes. Shadow was absolutely shocked. Apparently, the reason they had been gone for so long was because they were trying to tame a Spinosaurus, but it hadn't gone very well. By the time they saw one they were running for their lives from an angry Spinosaurus. Then, a pack of Raptors with an Alpha at their head came at them. The men had come back, bruised and battered, but the Mosasaurus cheered them all up.

It almost took up the entire bay, and they had to build a separate enclosure for it nearby.

There were several people that were heading out to find their own. All James could do was shake his head, "Stay away from its mouth, you might think it's an island when you first see it…by the way, you guys got any prime meat?"


	21. Chapter 21: The Dodorex Hunt

Chapter 21

The Dodorex Hunt

"Well what am I supposed to do about it?"

"I don't know but you'll think of something. You've done it a hundred times before."

James didn't know what to do. Shira had been pestering James to do it for days now, and it was getting on his nerves.

"I may have done it a hundred times before, but not to something so bent on not letting me do it."

Shira gave James a look, "She might be a bit stubborn but she's a beauty, and I'd really like to ride her."

James sighed and looked down "Anything for you my dear."

Shira raised an eyebrow, "Sarcasm? You must really want to do it James."

James shook his head. No indeed he didn't. Shira had obtained a new Carnotaurus the previous week. She had named it Aqua. It was light grey, with a teal teardrop mark behind its eyes. It was already tamed, but it still needed to be taught to bear a saddle. Normally, it isn't all that hard to do, but this Carnotaurus was making a point out of being really stubborn, and not learning to bear one. This was much to the frustration of James, who had volunteered to help Shira out and teach the Theropod to bear a saddle. James could honestly say this good deed went far from going unpunished. He had tried, failed miserably several times, and then gave up, which is when Shira started badgering him. She never badgered him for anything else any other time, so James knew how much this Carnotaurus meant to her.

Before they got into the stables, James looked at Shira, "Actually Shira, I hear Carnotaurus make great beasts of burden."

Shira, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes said, "But they make even better mounts."

After the two hour long fiasco in the stables, Shira, breathless, with her back against the wall said, "You know James, Carnotaurus may actually be very good beasts of burden."

James was on the beach, looking up at the stars. They seemed to be so much brighter here than they were back home. As he stared up, he saw a shooting star.

"Oh." said James contentedly, "A comet."

As he gazed, he heard something running up the beach. It was Rhino, on his Doedicurus. He looked very excited about something.

James stepped towards him, "Rhino, what's wrong?"

Rhino threw a case down on the ground. "I found this on the beach, it washed up a few hours ago."

He opened it, and James gasped in disbelief. There was a semiautomatic rifle in the case with about 400 rounds of ammo. The case was very large and heavy.

James' eyes were wide, "Rhino where on earth did you get those?

"I found them on the beach, it washed up as I was passing by. The case was waterproof, thank God, and I was able to get it."

James was still terribly confused, "Where could it even have come from?"

"I think I know."

He pointed to a label on the case that said, Property of the E.S.C. James looked up, knowing. The letters stood for, Explorers Society of the Congo.

"It must've come up from the helicopter wreck," James said, "but how could it have remained underwater for a year and a half, and then wash up on the beach to boot without sinking?"

It was a minor miracle, but here it was.

"I'll lock it up, we shouldn't use the ammo unless we absolutely have to."

James chuckled, "Or unless we have to intimidate some Dino Raiders that try to kill you."

Rhino huffed, "He has more than salvage guns to worry about if he shows his face around here…"

The next day he went out with Shadow to collect some berries. Both men went on their raptors, Shadow on the faithful Ronen, and James on Alan. They were both going out to collect some berries. Shadow was gathering some for the village storehouse, and James was gathering some for his ravenous dodos.

James chuckled, "Shadow, between the village and my dodos, I have no clue how any more Mejoberries can possibly still be here on the island."

Shadow laughed, "I hear you. It's getting a bit harder to find them each time we go hunting for them."

They each got their sacks ready, and went off towards the beach, and after a few hours, they had collected almost all the berries their sacks could carry. As they went back towards the village, they both saw something odd on the shore. It looked like a Tyrannosaurus, but it definitely wasn't, as it had a strange looking head. When they got as closer look they both lay prone on the ground, and gasped in amazement. The creature was unlike anything either of them had ever seen before. It was feathered, about 50 feet long, with the body of a T-rex and the head of a dodo bird. Its arms were also longer than a T-rex's, and they looked like wings almost.

Shadow and James both looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions. Shadow's eyes were wide, "What is that thing?!" he hissed.

James shook his head. They were both transfixed when the creature roared, which sounded like a Tyrannosaurus with a horrible frog in its throat. But what happened next is what the two men never forgot. The monster breathed a huge stream of fire from its mouth. James and Shadow both crawled back a bit.

"James we better get out of here."

After mounting their raptors, they went off to tell their friends what they had seen.

Rhino, Shira and David had met, along with Edmonto, who happened to overhear their conversation.

"James, do you realize what this means?"

"Rhino, you may not know, but back where I'm from we have experts who discover dinosaurs and creatures and then put their fossils in museums, but here in this island they aren't extinct."

Rhino puzzled a bit, and then said, "So these professionals haven't discovered this creature yet?"

"Rhino have you even discovered this yet?"

Rhino shook his head, "No, I haven't even heard it ever mentioned by our old tribe."

Edmonto spoke up, "We should each split up and look for it tomorrow. I'll go out on Midnight to find it, we could each go from there and see if we could find it."

The next day, they each split up. Edmonto went out with his father Tobi on Midnight, Rhino went out with Shadow, and James went out with Shira, who was the most excited James had ever seen her.

As they went into the stables, Shira looked at Aqua, "Ah, it's alright girl. Maybe when you start to listen we'll go out with you."

James got two Pteranodon saddles from the wall, "Shira, we'll look around where I saw it yesterday. We'll each go out on our Pteranodon to get a good aerial view before we go out on our other dinosaurs."

she agreed, and they each pushed off.

When they pulled the Pteranodon into the takeoff zone, Shira asked, "So where exactly are we going?"

"North. It was north where we saw it, and it headed north when it left. That's where we'll head."

Shira nodded, "Alright."

With that, they mounted their Pteranodon and took off.

A few hours in the air and not a sign of the Dodorex. Suddenly, they saw something James had never seen before. There was an Argentavis in the air, but it was being swarmed by three gigantic bats. These were known in the fossil record as Onychonycteris. They looked like a cross between a flying fox and a vampire bat, but they sure didn't eat fruit, instead dining on fresh meat.

James stopped Shira, who yelled over, "I've never seen those before! Ah! They're horrible!"

James didn't know how far they had flown, but obviously into a part of the island neither of them had ever been to before. The Giant Bats wheeled around, as if abandoning the Argentavis, and then with screams that could've given a warrior nightmares, the creatures began swarming James. James directed the Pteranodon towards them, but the Pterosaur was already fighting them on its own. Shira's Pteranodon joined in, and they dipped and darted, attacking the freakishly giant bats.

Shira shouted, "We should carry one's carcass back to the village to show Shadow!"

"If we ever get there!" shouted James back.

The Pteranodon bit with their beaks, pecked, and swooped, grabbing a bat with its talons. The Bat spiraled down like a World War II fighter plane, and then hit the ground. The other two bats were still harassing James. He swooped down to the ground, hoping to get the bats off his trail. They kept on coming. He swooped back into the air, alongside Shira, who had come back. Jetstream killed another of the Onychonycteris, before the third bat flew off as fast as its dragonish wings could carry it. Shira went down to the ground, picked up the body of a dead bat, and put it in her satchel. James winced, she'd do anything to help put a new species in the book, which Shadow was doing anyway.

"Here's one for the dossier book," said Shira.

"Shadow will be happy to put a new dossier in the book, but sorry Shira, you'll be the one carrying that thing!"

Shira grinned. Though she could be squeamish with certain things, she had no qualms about handling dead carcasses, something James never really liked. She stuffed it in the saddlebag, which was quite impressive given the huge size of the bat.

James shook his head, "Well, let's keep looking. We probably won't have much time left. It's getting towards evening."

Shira looked towards the horizon. He was right. The sun looked like it was dipping lower and lower in the sky.

She nodded, "Alright. If the moon is bright we can keep going, if not we can rest for the night. Are you okay with going by moonlight?"

James nodded vigorously, "Oh yes, I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to."

"Same here, let's go."

It was nighttime, but fortunately there was an exceptionally bright moon that lit up the night sky. James looked down and saw a Tyrannosaurus being swarmed by three Argentavis. James quickly left the premises, and departed further north away from the village.

As they kept going north, they saw what looked like a frozen wasteland far in the distance.

Shira looked at James and said, "How is there a frozen artic-like area here? We're almost on top of the equator!"

James was just as puzzled. They had gone further north than ever before, but their Pteranodon knew the way home, so they pressed on. They landed on a snow covered boulder, near a large coniferous forest. As they landed, they heard growling and pitter-patter of paws on the snow. Suddenly a gigantic wolf sprung out of the undergrowth. It was white, and was far larger than a normal wolf. It was a Dire Wolf, according to the fossil record, and it was here, on this bizarre place. Jetstream tore into the air, and it didn't take long to put some distance between them and the Dire Wolves.

"Tell Shadow to put that into the dossiers!" Shira shouted.

James was still trying to process this. They had gone far off course from the Dodorex, but seeing this frozen wasteland here, on the island, which was apparently far bigger than James or the entire village had ever thought, awakened a fire within him. How many more species lay undiscovered in the island? How many more dinosaurs or extinct creatures lay waiting to be added to Shadow's book of dossiers, which he had begun compiling only a few weeks ago, after James and Shira had tamed the Mosasaur. James remembered seeing the gleam in Shadow's eyes, as he proudly announced he was compiling a large book, with in-depth species profiles of all the animals discovered. James had helped, and they had most species down. But now, there would be two new species to add that were previously unknown by any on the island.

After several hours of flying non-stop quite fast, James and Shira returned to Ark Village. They may not have found the Dodorex, but they had discovered two brand new animals, much to the excitement of Shadow, who quickly drew up pictures of the animals, though he'd write the text when they knew more about it.

Shadow was incredibly excited by the news, "Two new creatures! I can't believe it! How far north did you go?"

"Nearly to the tip of the island I believe. There was actually snow on the ground it was so cold, but I can't think how it could be cold enough for snow to be on the ground."

Shadow raised an eyebrow, "Snow? What's that?"

James suddenly realized that Shadow wouldn't have had any concept of snow, since he had never seen it before.

James tried his best to explain, "Shadow, you know the frozen white stuff that sometimes forms at the bottom of the freezers?"

Shadow nodded.

"Imagine that all over the ground as far as you could see."

Shadow looked as if he was trying hard to figure it out, but shook his head and replied, "That doesn't make sense."

James gave up, "Don't worry Shadow," he said, "You'll see it if we mount an expedition to the northern areas of the island."

"If? You mean when! I'm going to get there if it's the last thing I do. Just as soon as we either capture or kill the Dodorex."

James nodded, "But we have to find it first."

Two days later and they set out again, this time heading in the opposite direction. This time, they took James' Spinosaurus Morten, and Shira took Shullershy, her Carnotaurus. They decided that they should stick a bit closer to home this time, and not go far out like they did the other day. As James was walking alongside Lake Lore, on the far side away from the base, he saw another horrible creature that he'd never seen before. It was a gigantic spider, as large as a man. It was known in the fossil record as Araneomorphus, and while those spiders were as large as a human head, this spider was large enough to take down a Raptor. He had taken his assault rifle this time, and when he saw the monster, he unloaded a volley of hot lead into its crusty exoskeleton, killing the horrendous beast.

"One more for the dossiers," said James.

Later, while riding Morten, he stomped to the shores of Lake Lore, and saw a very sorry sight. A white Tyrannosaurus was being attacked by both a Stegosaurus and an Apatosaurus. Each of the creatures looked like they'd been going at it for quite a while.

"Everybody looks a bit worse for wear here..." James said.

The dinosaurs hardly noticed James arriving on his titanic Spinosaurus. Shira came up on Shullershy. She chuckled and watched the comic spectacle, before something that looked like a streak of electricity burst from the fray, sending all the dinosaurs running away. James then understood. The Tyrannosaurus wasn't being attacked, in fact, it was actually helping the herbivores indirectly. James knew what had burst out of the tussle. That white streak could only be caused by an Alpha Raptor. James told Shira to get down. James mounted Morten, who roared, and got uneasy. James knew that an Alpha dinosaur was the only thing that could intimidate a full grown Spinosaurus. James ordered Morten to fight, and he saw the Alpha Raptor whoosh back, attack the Stegosaurus like a bolt of murderous white lightning. The Stegosaurus fell, and then the Raptor stood still, its blood-white eyes staring holes in James. Morten roared and swiped the air with his claws. James got out his assault rifle and aimed at the Raptor. He fired, but at that instant the Raptor seemed to teleport over to the other side of James. He dismounted, and saw the creature screech, with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. James yelled, and the Alpha Raptor kept darting back and forth with unimaginable speed and agility. James was wearing his armor he had got from the Dino Raiders, and he saw the Raptor turn on a dime and swipe him. The claw marks dug into the iron armor, but didn't touch James, who shot the Alpha Raptor, but he didn't know where. Suddenly, the Alpha Raptor was on top of James. James quickly grabbed his dagger, and plunged it into the Raptor's face. The Raptor jumped off screaming, and James grabbed his assault rifle. James kept firing, but the creature was too quick, so he mounted Morten and the Spinosaurus charged. The vicious Alpha Raptor lunged onto Morten's head, but Morten clawed it off, and clamped its jaws down on it, killing it. James dismounted and took a look at the creature.

James couldn't help but think, _'And Shadow actually thinks he'll be able to tame this thing?'_ Shira looked at it. This was her first time actually witnessing a fight with an Alpha Dinosaur.

"And you killed an Alpha Carnotaurus." she said, "How did you do that and live to tell about it?"

James chuckled, "I have no idea."

It was nightfall, and still no sign of the Dodorex. They kept going along the beach when suddenly they heard a huge squawking roar, and then a stream of fire came from over the hill. James pointed, and Shira's eyes were wide. Then they came to it. It was 300 yards away, and standing on the beach.

Shira told James, "I think your best bet is to get on a Pteranodon and shoot from high up."

James thought it over but said, "No we're too far away from the village, and that thing will be gone by the time I get back. Besides, we have our Spinosaurus, and you have your Carnotaurus. I think we can hold our own quite nicely."

James quietly advanced, and he held out his assault rifle. The Dodorex, suddenly looked over at James and breathed a tremendous stream of fire before charging James. He yelled in terror, but the Dodorex was gaining on him. He thought he would surely be killed by the monster when suddenly Morten slammed into the Dodorex. The Dodorex stepped back, roared, and rushed forward, with its head lowered, Morten, with claws outstretched, roared and clamped its jaws down on the creature's neck. The Dodorex roared, and tried to bit the Spinosaurus, but Morten kept the monster pinned down with its two muscular arms. The Dodorex roared in violent frustration, before breathing a stream of fire. This startled Morten, who let go. The Dodorex attacked, slamming its body into the Spinosaurus, who tripped. The Dodorex lunged, but Morten regained his footing, and slashed the Dodorex's face. The Dodorex let out a piercing scream, but Morten kept on coming, bowling forward, claws outstretched. The monster was hit by the Spinosaurus' tremendous arms, and Morten grabbed the Dodorex's head, before bringing it to the ground. The Dodorex struggled to get up, but the Spinosaurus stepped on its head, before finishing it off with a bone shattering bite to the neck. The Dodorex went limp, and the Spinosaurus roared in victory.

James stepped forward, and so did Shira. Suddenly out of the bushes came Shadow.

James ran over, "How did you find us?"

Shadow replied, "When a Spinosaurus gets in a tussle, you know!"

Shadow approached the feathered monster. He breathed heavily. He showed James and Shira his dossier for it, before taking the skull of the beast, and returning to Ark Village.

James and Shira presented the new dossier to the village, along with the other new dossiers. It got James and Shira thinking, what else lay on the island? Still, somebody needed to explore the icy area in the far north of the island, and very, very soon they would.


	22. Chapter 22: Pembe's Penguin Sanctuary

Chapter 22

Pembe's Penguin Sanctuary

James, Shira and Shadow all had gathered in the small room in the Lake Lore base. They were there to discuss exploring the cold, arctic area in the far north of the island that they had discovered when hunting for the Dodorex. James and Shira were both confounded how an icy place like that could possibly exist so close to the equator. James had decided to set out the next week with Shadow and Shira, to explore the area. They also decided to explore a bit of the swampy area they had discovered while hunting for the Dodorex as well.

The preparations were ready. They took sufficient food, and other supplies, and each set out on their mounts. James took Phil, Shadow took his Smilodon, and Shira took her Doedicurus. Since it would be cold, they had refrained from taking their dinosaurs, which, being cold-blooded, may freeze to death when exposed to the cold air, so they took their mammals instead.

They traversed for two days when they reached the swamp. It was quite big, and mainly filled with tall Cyprus trees. They all came in quietly. There were some birds chirping, and frogs calling away in the cattails. The ground was mushy and muddy, but Phil was right at home, though Shadow's Smilodon was a bit perturbed by the water.

They had gone into its depths for only a small bit when suddenly something large, cat-like and purple exploded from out of the water. But on second thoughts it wasn't a cat, it looked like some sort of alligator. It didn't attack anything, it just stood on the shore and growled. It was a crocodile, about 10 feet long, but with really long legs, and teeth like a wild boar. The whispers and rumors of the village were true. Kaprosuchus did indeed live on the island. Kaprosuchus was a medium sized creature, with crocodilian scales and tail, but the body plan of a big cat. Its legs were long and positioned under its body, and its snout was long, flat, and it had wild boar like tusks poking out of the top and bottom jaws. It also had strange small horns above its eyes.

James and Shira both gasped, and Shadow tried to move forward. The creature tensed up, swiped with its front paws, and growled. Shadow tried to reach out, but all of the sudden the crocodile lunged back into the water and went under.

Shadow looked ecstatic, "A new dossier!" he shouted.

They continued on for another half day, before finally coming to the frozen region. There was a bit of snow on the ground, and they each got excited. They traveled for a few more hours, before they saw something large and furry slide in the shadows in front of them. It grunted, and rushed in front of them again. James got out a weapon.

He whispered to Shira and Shadow, "There's some sort of animal over there, don't attack unless it's dangerous."

Suddenly, the thing's silhouette rose into the bright sky. It was about six feet tall, very furry around the shoulders, and bipedal. When the creature stepped into the light, James, Shira and Shadow all stepped back. It was a human. With some sort of club in his hand.

Jamese waved slowly.

The man looked confused and spoke, "What are ya doin' here in these parts?"

James hesitated, "Uh...who are you?"

The man was tall, slightly tan, and covered with very light pinkish lavender furs. His eyebrows were thick and weathered, and his eyes were squinted slightly. His arms were thick and muscular, though James wondered if he looked so strong due to the massive furs he was wearing.

The man replied, "My name is Pembe"

James nodded, "Well, its nice to meet you Pembe."

The man shook his head, shrugged, looked like he was trying to remember something and said, "I guess it's somethin' to do with my eyes."

Though the man probably didn't know it, they were blueish grey.

"I own a penguin sanctuary a bit further down towards the ocean. I was just lookin' for an escaped Penguin that got all loose."

Shadow looked confused, "An escaped what?"

"An escaped Penguin! Haven't ya heard of a penguin before?"

James and Shira looked at each other. Who in the world was this strange person? James decided to break the awkward moment. "So you own a penguin farm?"

The man looked like James had just said something awful. "It's not a Penguin farm it's a Penguin sanctuary!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, penguin sanctuary."

"Yes, I am but the caretaker of these majestic birds. I cant ever exploit them, only help feed and shelter them!"

The area they were at was barren. There was just snow and more snow, with ice arches towering into the sky, and the ocean only a few miles away.

"Well, you people don't seem to be wearing good enough clothing out here, its powerful cold! Lemme take you to my sanctuary and show you the penguins! I haven't had any visitors for quite a few months lemme tell you."

James nodded, "Sure, thank you very much, we'd love to see it."

When they reached it, they decided it very well deserved the title of sanctuary. It was a wide-open ice sheet, but there was a cliff towards the back with a forest and a mountain directly behind. The ocean was to the right of it, with an entrance into the sanctuary from the ocean formed by an ice arch with an opening in it. There was a house on the outskirts of the sanctuary.

"So this is my house," said Pembe, "And this is my entertainment...it ain't much."

It was a wooden platform, with a wooden box, and an anvil. Shadow was having his own entertainment watching this funny hermit.

Pembe pointed out a window, "That there's my chair,"

Outside the house was a single wooden chair in the middle of the ice sheet.

"Sometimes I like to sit in it and collect my thoughts...that's about it."

There was a long pause before Pembe suddenly remembered what he was here for.

"But you have come here to see the Penguins."

Shadow nodded, each of them not really wanting to say anything. He saw Phil laying down on the snow, sleeping.

Pembe walked over to it and said, "What is this...creature."

James explained that it was his ape, and Pembe relaxed.

"Just make sure he doesn't mess up the snow or anythin'."

James promised Phil would behave.

They went into the living area of the house, and Pembe stopped them and said, "I do suggest, you take off your shoes. Not even I am immune to the no-shoe rule."

James was shocked that he could actually go barefoot in temperatures as cold as this. Shadow took off his shoes, and the others followed suit. He went into the next room, which was just a bare stone room with a ladder leading to the upstairs in the corner.

"Now this'n here is my livin' room...and if I had any furniture this is where it would be."

There was a long pause as they each looked around the room, nodding at nothing in particular.

"Movin' on"

Pembe stepped up on the frozen ladder, and the others followed. The ladder led right up to some sort of useless stone pillar. Pembe showed them some sort of Air Conditioning unit.

James raised an eyebrow, "Where did you get that AC unit?"

Pembe shrugged. There was another pause. It was a crude looking thing, made of refined metal from a fabricator.

"I use this thing when it gets warm, you need this thing on when it gets hot. It's pretty warm today as you can tell."

Shadow chuckled under his breath and looked at the ground. This was too much.

Pembe moved over to a cabinet, "This here's my gun box where I keep my guns n' arrows n' stuff. As you can see," he pointed to neat rows and stacks in the case, "I'm a very organized person."

He began talking almost to himself now, "I'm gonna take my gun, some arrows, and maybe a couple bullets dependin' on what we're gonna do."

James looked. He also had a gun?

"Pembe, where did you get that gun?"

Pembe shrugged.

"Well you people haven't even seen the best part er' this house is up here."

He crawled up a ladder, and looked up. James, Shira and Shadow all came up. It led to another ladder, which led to a large balcony overlooking the sanctuary.

"You guys can get a full view of the sanctuary from up here."

James looked down. There were large metal fences and a metal gate in front of the sanctuary. James didn't bother asking where he got them, though he was extremely curious.

"I keep em' safe." said Pembe, "Down there's the guardian of the gate," he said pointing to a penguin at the front of the sanctuary. "That's Cap'n Scarlet. And there they are, beautiful penguins. But you've gotta be careful because they reproduce quite quick'n. And already I can see a baby penguin out there. We're gonna need to take care of that thing..."

James looked in at the sanctuary, not really listening to what Pembe was saying.

However, his next words startled him, "That's'n why I've brung my beatin' stick!"

he held up a large wooden caveman club.

"Now you may think this's cruel. But it ain't cruel, because if you don't take care of the babies, then the adults run outa food'n die. And that ain't pretty."

They walked down to the entrance, which was quite wide.

Pembe cautioned them, "Now you've gotta kinda side-step in here."

He proceeded to side-step and shimmy into the entrance, which was plenty wide enough to just walk in. He got inside.

"And that about...about does it."

He opened the door into the sanctuary and said as the others clambered out, "Now you just kinda open the door and then shut it," he raised his voice a bit, "Don't you forget to close the door! We don't want any penguins gittin' loose. Or they kill all uh ya."

James looked at Captain Scarlet. She was a strange type of penguin known in the fossil record as Kairuku. Shadow got out his pencil and paper and started drawing a sketch of Capt. Scarlet to put in his Kairuku dossier. Pembe walked over to a small baby penguin in the field.

He got out his club and looked up, "We gotta take care of this little troublemaker! Now you may call this cruel. But it ain't cruel it's nature! You eat a bacon sandwich, and a pig had to be taken out for that."

James raised an eyebrow. How on earth did he know about bacon sandwiches all the way out here? Pembe proceeded to whack the living daylights out of the penguin, before it fell down unconscious.

"Now we tame this little troublemaker!"

James was slightly relieved. He went to another baby penguin, and beat that thing for almost five minutes, but it didn't knock out the penguin.

"OK," said Pembe, "It looks like he's takin' no damage. My beatin' stick ain't very good today. But what we're here to do today is to check up on the sanctuary. It seems my beatin' stick is impractical in this sorta situation, I also realize I ain't gotten any shoes on, so I'm a gonna git my shoes."

Pembe ran off, and left James, Shira and Shadow alone. Shadow burst out laughing when he was out of sight. James simply nodded, and Shira, looked.

"How on earth did he not realize he didn't have shoes until now?!" Shira said, "We've been walking in pack ice and snow!"

Shadow soon forgot, and began looking at the penguins.

"Kairuku," he said, "That's a new dossier as well, that's two new dossiers in this single mission!"

James came over and said, "I still am a bit more impressed with the Kaprosuchus than with these, uh, penguins..."

Shadow laughed, "It was all I could do to just burst into laughter with everything he said. Where did he even come from?"

James shrugged, "He must be another castaway. He has an Air conditioner and he knows what it is, he has a rifle, and he knows what a bacon sandwich is, even though he plays dumb when you ask him."

Pembe came up the hill with shoes on this time.

He pulled out his rifle, "Right. Let's git on! Let me put my dart in."

Suddenly, he slung his rifle, and pointed at a small hut at the edge of the sanctuary.

They walked over, and he said, "This n' here's my refrigerator. It's where I put my food for the penguinss."

The fridge was just a bunch of wooden shelves in a small shed with very orderly racks of meat, all the same size, and all quarter turned.

"Now as you can see we're pretty well stocked, so I'm gonna grab some to feed to the penguins."

He grabbed several shanks and flopped them into a sack before trudging back outside. Suddenly, Pembe acted like he was desperately trying to remember something before saying,

"Ah dangit I forgot my narcotics!" I'm gonna go back and git em'. Now if a penguin escapes now don't worry nothin's gonna get past me with my gun."

He proceeded to slowly make his way to the house. James looked around.

"There's quite a few penguins out here."

Shadow was already near one. James came over, and saw Shadow rubbing his hands on Capt. Scarlett's body.

Shadow motioned for James to come over, "James feel the penguin."

He did, and when he did, he was so startled he pulled his hand back, before cautiously putting it out again. The Kairuku's feathers and skin were actually hot to the touch. In fact, soon, James started to feel a bit warmer just being close to the Kairuku.

"This is amazing!" said Shadow. "No other animal I can think of has this kind of trait."

Pembe returned, with a bunch of tranq darts filled with narcotics.

"There's precious few Narcoberry bushes out in penguin country. So I trade with the local salseman that comes out here to trade."

James decided to ask, "Who did you trade with?"

"There's a guy named...Uh, what's his name...Uh, I can't remember. Itll probably come to me some day. Now over here we have Magic Dave and he's a magician penguin, and we've gotta take this one out; he's a troublemaker!"

James saw nothing very magic about the Kairuku but he decided to let Pembe have his way.

He aimed his rifle and said, "Now I've found that the best way to tranquilize em's in the foot." He shot, "In the foot!" he said, but James could see the tranq dart in the ice.

He decided to break it to him, "Uh, Pembe, you missed."

Pembe looked, saw the dart, shot again, and this time it was actually in the penguin's foot.

"I apoligize I was a terrible shot."

He sent two more darts into the penguin, which didn't seem to know it had been tranquilized.

"Now these penguins are very fragile delicate beings so you don't wanna hit em' too hard."

The Kairuku dropped, and Pembe stooped down, gave it some meat and gave it some narcotics.

"So while we're here. Tamin' these penguins, I'm gonna show you around."

He went to the edge of the bay inside the sanctuary. There was an ice arch, and below it there was a protected entrance.

Inside the bay, Pembe pointed, "Now there's a secret in this'n here pool. There's a Megalodon. Now this ain't my shark. Ain't no, no, no, no-one's shark. But I'm OK with it. It seems to provide protection for the penguins."

He went back to the Kairuku he was taming, and fed it some more meat and narcotics.

"We're gonna drug you up so you won't be able to tell left or right to Alabama!"

He looked up on one of the icy cliffs, "And over here we have the elusive, mountain climin' penguins. And over there, we have another one on the ridge top."

Suddenly he fed even more narctotics to the Kairuku.

"That's gonna be one stoned penguin when he comes around!"

He took James, Shadow and Shira back to the house, and Phil perked up when James came by. Pembe went over to Phil, and took some narcotics out of the ape's hand. James' face dropped.

"I wouldn't put narcotics into Phil's mits there Pembe..."

Pembe nodded, "It wasn't me I promise! Now when I took on this job, I must say I'm not much of a swimmer, so when I took on this job...I'm kinda a bit stranded now. But I can't leave the penguins now I'm their master!"

Pembe led them all the way up a ridge, "We're gonna go all the way up this ridge, we're gonna own it! Like those mountains in Mississippi."

"Uh, Pembe, are you from the South?" James asked.

"No, I'm as far north as I can get up here with these penguins."

James shook his head. They got up to the top.

"Now we have a bird's eye view of the sanctuary. You can look down and see what's goin' on, but don't yell!" he said raising his voice, "You don't wanna yell up here. You don't have enough respect for this place."

James looked and saw all the Kairuku down by the feeding trough.

"The penguins wait down there, they know where the food's at. But it ain't feedin' time yet."

He turned around and looked at the ice flows out to sea. There was a Kairuku on one of the floats.

Pembe suddenly yelled, "We have a rogue penguin on the loose! A rogue penguin!"

He quickly pulled out his rifle, and shot. The penguin fell down.

"I'm not much of a shot, I just happened to be in a national shootin' contest in Arkansas at the age of twelve."

On their way down to retrieve the penguin, Shadow saw something crawl across the floor, and Pembe went up to it.

"These little bugs are little troublemakers. They steal the penguins!"

James recognized it as a Trilobite, which was undiscovered as of yet. Pembe grabbed the arthropod and showed it to James.

"This thing's a troublemaker. I can't have em' stealin' the penguins."

Shadow sketched it quickly and the thing scurried off. They saw the shore was full of Kairuku.

"Now I won't kill any penguins inside the sanctuary, but sometimes penguins outside carry prime meat, so I take em' out so I can eat em'."

Pembe pulled out his rifle, and shot one of the penguins, which fell down.

"Ah, look at him go! There he went he went flyin'! Oh, oh that's not funny."

They were still up on a cliff about thirty-five feet above the ocean. Pembe saw a juvenile, "Now I push these little troublemakers back into the sanctuary."

He grabbed it, turned it around, and pushed it in the direction of the sanctuary.

"Now we can jump into the water, and that'll lead us into the sanctuary so let's go!"

With that, he jumped off the cliff and into the water, which the three friends thought must've been colder than ice itself. They decided to take the long route back to the sanctuary.

When they got back down, Pembe was checking on the penguin he was taming, dripping and drenched. Shadow shook his head.

"Cold?" He asked Pembe.

"Cold? No it's a bit warm up here."

They looked at each other.

"Why didn't you people jump down the cliff? It's not that high."

"We prefer to walk." James replied.

"Huh. Well they didn't call me Thrill Seeker Joe for nothing."

"Who called you that?" asked James.

Pembe shrugged. He looked up and saw another Trilobite coming up into the sanctuary. Pembe got out his rifle and shot the pest.

"Boom! He's down Heh, heh, Uh, I really shouldn't laugh at that."

Eventually the sky grew dark and Pembe said, "Oh looks like there's a blizzard comin'. These ain't no good for the penguins. Let's go back to my house."

They went inside as the sky grew black and sheets of snow came whipping down. They took off their shoes, but Pembe went back outside. James and Shadow looked at each other, concerned. It didn't take long before he burst back into the house, breathing heavily.

"Oh well it's not a real bad blizzard you guys can come out."

They explored a bit more, until James decided to leave. Pembe thanked them for visiting, and how it helped him retain his sanity.

"I know it's time for a visit when I start talkin' to my brick wall, and I started that yesterday. Thanks for visitin' the penguins and come back anytime you're up here."

James left, and they started their journey back.

They came back to the swamp. Shadow had become obsessed with the idea of taming a Kaprosuchus.

"I need that thing!" he said as they came to the swamp.

They looked around for a day, but James had his doubts. Nobody had yet tamed one, so they didn't know how you tamed it. They set out some prime meat they got from the Kairuku Pembe had killed. They got in the shadows and waited.

An hour later, and they heard something in the water. A purple shape slipped through the water, and Shadow tensed. A Kaprosuchus emerged, gargled, sniffed, and then snorting, picked up the prime meat. Shadow came out, and the Kaprosuchus growled. Shadow slowly pulled out a piece of prime meat. The Kaprosuchus seemed to relax. The crocodile swallowed the prime meat, and looked at Shadow. Shadow slowly and carefully pulled out the other shank of prime meat. The crocodile slowly and cautiously shimmied up to Shadow. The crocodile almost daintily grabbed the meat with its jaws before eating it. Shadow wasn't half sure on whether the Kaprosuchus would stick around, or if it would suddenly run away. Shadow had only two shanks left. He took another one, and held it out, and the Kaprosuchus ate it a bit less nervously now. One more shank, and Shadow held out his hand. The Kaprosuchus sniffed it, and then nudged it. Shadow ran his hand over the smooth scales of the croc's head.

Riding his Kaprosuchus back to Ark Village, Shadow named it Razorback, and James had to take his Smilodon back while Phil followed, scratching the back of his furry head with its giant hand. Rhino was very impressed that Shadow had managed to tame one, but James wasn't quite done exploring the swamp. He was sure more than just Kaprosuchus lived there. Shadow wrote his dossier for Kairuku, though James was a bit disappointed on how he retold the story of Pembe in it.

"Shadow," he said, "You were supposed to tell a bit more about him in the dossier!"

"If I only could help drawing anything but big pictures. I hardly even have enough room for the words!"


	23. Chapter 23: Not Dead

Chapter 23

Not Dead

James had decided to go to the base at Lake Lore for a while. He hadn't been there for about a week, and it was about time he made sure Rhino was keeping up with the place. The base had grown from a small outpost into a village only about half the size of Ark Village. It was still quite a handful, and Rhino had decided to be the chief of that particular place, sharing much of the management with Shadow.

James entered Rhino's house. Rhino was looking at a map. He looked up, and smiled when James approached.

"Hey James! What brings you here today? Just coming over for a social call, or have you discovered some grand new dinosaur species?"

James chuckled, "The former. I haven't been here for a few weeks. I was just making sure you're holding down the fort."

"Quite nicely!" retorted Rhino, "It's your village I'm always worrying about. You seem a bit more focused on exploration."

James cocked his head in thought. "You're right. But my village is so good at taking care of itself. I hardly have any quarrels to sort out or fighting to stop."

Rhino tapped his fingers on the table, "Same here."

James started laughing.

Rhino looked up, "What is it James?"

James stopped and said, "When we founded Ark Village you were just as into exploration as I've been. Maybe not quite as much as McClure, but you can't look me in the eyes and say you're not a bit curious about the new species we've been finding."

Rhino looked down and chuckled, "You're too good at mind reading..."

James saw a Raptor come up from the beach with a rider on it. It was Shira. James smiled. She smiled back, dismounted, and walked over.

"Wondering where you've been there James," said Shira.

James chuckled. "Why? What's wrong?"

Shira nodded, "Oh nothing, you're usually at the town hall or at the dodo farm. I couldn't find you so I came over here."

James took her Raptor and put it in the stables. They went into James house at the base, and talked. It was nightfall when Rhino came in the door.

Shira smiled, "Rhino! It's been such a long time, how are you?"

Rhino sat down, "Very well, thank you Shira."

He then looked at James, "Well, I've been thinking about what you said this morning. I'd like to go explore a bit more of this island."

James nodded, "What day?"

Rhino rocked around a bit, thinking, "How about three days from now?"

"Done! And yes Shira you can come too."

Shira grinned, "I'm ready!"

The days were over, preparations had been made, and they set out. James took Alan, Rhino took Batya, and Shira took her Raptor Lava. They decided to go near the Red Cliffs, near the Emerald Fields where James lost Barry. They decided to look for more emeralds there. Come to think of it, as James remembered, this area was actually very poorly known, since not many people wanted to explore it for fear of rumored Dino Raiders living there. They had never discovered an outpost there, but there was also no reason for Dino Raiders not to live there.

They reached the Emerald Fields, and looked around.

Rhino took out a collection bag, "Now, whatever you find is yours. Don't go badgering anybody for their emeralds."

James allowed a laugh of contempt escape, "You mean nobody can badger _you_ for your own emeralds right?"

Rhino got off and promptly said, "Let's get to searching."

They looked around the dirt. The area was a deciduous forest with trees placed far apart from each other, with a grassy forest floor. It was slightly hilly, and about 10 miles northeast of Ark Village, but about 30 miles away from the base at Lake Lore. They searched, and when Shira let out a small involuntary scream, James looked over at her. With an embarrassed smile on her face, she held up a large emerald. Rhino looked forcibly happy, and it was worth the trip to James to see that look on Rhino's face.

"Don't worry Rhino," James said, "You're the one that got all those silica pearls on your Ichthyosaur the day we discovered that Elasmosaurus remember?"

"You wondered where I got that red Spinosaurus from? That merchant took all of it!"

"Well then you've better look a bit harder!"

Night arrived, and they pulled out their lanterns and started working in the dark. James had found two emeralds, Shira found three, and Rhino walked home empty handed. James gave one of his to Rhino however just to get him to stop complaining about not finding any. It was the only time James had ever seen Rhino complain.

As they returned, James saw something large and bipedal in the moonlight. It looked like a Tyrannosaurus, but it was about 10 feet smaller. James shined his lantern on the creature, and it looked up, its iridescent eyes shining yellow-green, like a mirror. James looked at it. It didn't look like anything they had ever seen before. When James got a close look at its skull, James recognized it as a Megalosaurus. Something they hadn't identified until now. It was about 30 feet long, and had an oddly shaped oval skull. It was eating the carcass of a Triceratops, and seemed uncaring about the group of people in front of it. James looked at it, sketched it quickly, and looked a bit longer. It was maroon, with white rough spiny scales on its back and neck. James had heard of this dinosaur being rumored as having an unimaginably strong bite, even stronger than the Tyrannosaurus'. Only the Megalodon had a stronger bite. He had heard the stories of this dinosaur by members of the Rockart Tribe, but it was thought to have vanished further north. The carnivore looked up at them again, roared, and continued eating. James decided to leave the Megalosaurus alone.

They returned back to the base at Lake Lore, and bedded down for the night. He returned to Ark Village with Shira. She took an emerald out of her satchel and tossed it into the air, landing it back in her hand. She grinned at it.

James looked at her with a smile, "What're you getting with your loot?"

Shira thought it over a second. "I need some prime meat to train a new Spinosaurus."

James raised an eyebrow, "But you already have one?"

She nodded, "I know. I was going to tame one for Edmonto. Poor kid doesn't have one."

"Well I hope it's worth your money. You're a very nice person."

Shira rolled her eyes. "What else could I even buy?"

James shook his head..."Not too many department stores around here. Unless you open one."

Shira laughed.

"If I was to open one, it wouldn't be with the fancy clothes we have back at home, it'd just be leather and hide."

James chuckled.

As they continued, he asked Shira, "About things back home, is there anything you really miss?"

Shira looked like she was thinking hard.

Soon she started smiling, "Well there's a few things I miss. One is definitely chocolate, the other is hot showers, and another is going out to eat."

James laughed.

"All the things that you can't do here unfortunately." she said.

"Well, the chocolate I don't know, the hot shower could be arranged, we just might have to build it, and who says we couldn't open a restaurant of our own?"

Shira laughed, "Open a restaurant?"

James chuckled again. They kept talking as they went, James and Shira enjoying each other as they continued towards the village.

James put the Raptors in the stables, and Shira returned to the house. James went over the dodo farm. He needed to perform some upkeep. The troughs were a bit dirty, so he cleaned up, and Shadow came in.

"So Rhino didn't find any emeralds, huh?"

James looked up at Shadow, "Who told you that?"

"The man himself."

James shook his head and chuckled under his breath.

"He's really that beside himself?"

Shadow laughed, "Don't worry James, he'll get over it in a few days."

James continued cleaning.

"Want to help?" asked James.

Shadow replied as expected, "I got some stuff to do, sorry. Maybe later."

After cleaning, James went over to Shadow's house. He quietly stalked and found Shadow out back, taking a siesta overlooking the ocean.

He yelled, "Hey Shadow!"

Shadow rolled out of his hammock yelling and wildly flailing his fists.

"Some stuff to do huh?" James walked off laughing uncontrollably.

James saw Shira coming over towards him from the beach. He was sitting along the shore, thinking.

She walked over, "Hi James."

James looked up, "Hey Shira. Something you want?"

"I'd like to go back to the Emerald Fields again for a bit."

James thought about it. He didn't have anything else to do, so he nodded yes, got Alan, and they both stalked out to the Emerald Fields.

They decided to split up, and cover more ground that way. James took the Southern Fields, and Shira the Northern Fields. He searched for about an hour but found nothing. They had told each other to meet in about two hours at the Hollow Tree. Another hour passed. He found an emerald, and then waited at the tree. But Shira didn't come. He figured she'd probably forgotten, or maybe she was digging out a stubborn emerald. However, once a half hour passed, he began to get worried. Another half hour, and he mounted Alan and spurred him on violently.

What happened? What was taking her so long? He scoured the Northern Fields but found nothing. He dismounted, looking for any kind of trace: broken branches, leaves rustled, scuffle marks, anything! He mounted Alan again, and frantically searched everywhere. Then he saw something on the ground that didn't belong. It was Lava's saddle on the ground in a heap, with a small puddle of blood beside it. His eyes were wide, and he was more scared than he had ever been in his entire life. No. Not Shira. This was not right! He mounted Alan. There was a trail leading North. He had seen that Shira had broken some branches across her path, and he followed as fast as he possibly could. She definitely hadn't been attacked by a dinosaur, but he was afraid what being attacked by a human could mean. Were there still Dino Raiders on the island? Survivors of the raid?

He came to a cave. It was dark as pitch. He dismounted Alan, tied him up, and grabbed his lantern. He slowly entered the cave. He had brought his machete, which was long enough to use as a very effective melee weapon. The small flame on the cave walls flickered hauntingly. He didn't want to yell out, for fear of alerting whatever was in here, but it was all he could do to stop himself. He hastened quicker with every step, flying on wings made of fear. There was something that stopped him on the edge of the cave. It was an insignia...of the Dino Raiders. James' eyes were even wider, but soon narrowed into enraged slits. His teeth grinding, and his soul angrier than a wounded bear. He gripped his machete tighter than he ever had before. Stealing dinosaurs was one thing. Stealing a woman was quite another. Let alone the one he loved. He ran on faster and faster, his raging adrenaline fueling him as he went.

Suddenly he came upon her. She was in a large room in the cave in a bloody heap. He threw himself down next to her. She coughed, and when she saw him tears began streaming down her cheeks. James was angrier now than he had ever been in his life. She wasn't hurt badly, though she was hurt. She had a large bruise on her face, and several cuts on her arms and face. She held onto him, but he got up.

She said something that shocked James, "Not dead."

"What? Who?"

"Apollo."

James was now crushing the machete in his hands, every ounce of anger he could muster being used to fuel him.

"Where?" he demanded.

She pointed down the hall. He gently set her down.

"Stay here. Use this."

He handed her a knife, and then rushed down the cave passage.

He stopped in a large room, and yelled, "Apollo! Come out you murderous scum!"

No answer. He yelled in frustration, then rushed further down the passage. When he reached another room. He saw him. Cloaked in a black garment was the Dino Raider's chief himself. Though he was different from when James saw him last. He had a prosthetic leg.

James was breathing loud, hard, and angrily.

"I've come to finish the job this time."

Apollo turned around, with a disgusting grin on his scarred face. He was also missing an ear.

"As I expected you too. I've had to stay in the shadows while I healed up."

Apollo was holding the same battle axe he had used to fight James with.

"Too bad you won't be able to rely on a grenade to save you now."

James eyes were filled with rage.

"And you wont be able to rely on Alpha Raptors to save you now."

Apollo chuckled, a sickening mockery that James couldn't stand.

"You know why I'm here Apollo. You dared to lay a finger on her. The woman I will defend to the death might I add."

Apollo made a sound of disgust.

"Your love of that woman will get you killed."

James gritted his teeth, "You may have survived that explosion, but you're not leaving this room until you've lost more than your leg!"

Apollo kicked the dirt at his feet, "Very well. I have the same desire for you. I'll just have to let Hijikata know that the woman you swore to protect is now unprotected."

James, startled, looked up at Apollo, "What does he have to do with this?"

Apollo looked smug, "Everything. He's the one that found her. I'm just here to make sure her emeralds are mine. I'll kill her when she tells where the other treasures are."

James, faster than an Alpha Raptor's claws, swiped at Apollo's cheek. Blood came out, but Apollo barely even flinched.

"You lay a hand on her, and I will kill you."

Apollo looked to the chamber beside him, "Hijikata!"

Hijikata came in, smirking.

He walked up to James and got in his face, "It's been a while since we've seen each other. Was that your friend out there? Real good looking."

James glared at Hijikata who smiled disgustingly. James threw a punch at Hijikata's face, and it landed hard. He reeled back, and Apollo looked down at Hijikata, then at James.

"Kill him Hijikata."

Hijikata got up, pulled out a dagger, and swiped at James. Unfortunately for Hijikata, James was very well trained in combat, and Hijikata defiantly wasn't. He took advantage of Hijikata's reckless swipe, and as Hijikata pulled up, James cupped his hands, and slammed them over Hijikata's ears. Hijikata yelled in pain, disoriented and bleeding. James landed a sudden shocking punch directly to Hijikata's nose, further stunning him. James took his machete, and put it to Hijikata's neck.

"Tell me what's stopping me from killing you right now."

Hijikata coughed, winced, and glared at James.

"Tell me!"

Hijikata said nothing. But James didn't kill him. He simply landed a mighty punch to Hijikata's face, knocking him out, and then dragging him into a corner of the room.

James looked at Apollo, who looked as if he'd been expecting what he had just seen.

"Is that the best you can do?" James said.

Apollo got out his battle axe, "A valiant effort. But this is our final meeting." Apollo raised his axe.

James yelled and rushed forward, but Apollo stayed where he was, before letting open a trapdoor. Out crawled a Pulmonoscorpius. James quickly dispatched the monster by sinking his machete in the weak spot on its head.

Apollo looked afraid for a split second, but fear had been on his face, and James level of confidence rose dramatically.

He swiped with his machete, but Apollo parried with his battle axe, before flipping his axe over to the clubbed side, and aiming for James' rib cage. James dodged, and swiped at Apollo's neck, but he dodged, and jumped down a raised rock. James tried to thrust again, but his machete struck a stalactite on the ceiling. The stalactite crumbled and fell to the ground. James grabbed it, and threw it at Apollo, who instinctively grabbed it, but his concentration was broken, and James took that moment, and stabbed Apollo. His aim was wrong, and he stabbed Apollo's arm instead of his chest. Apollo yelled out, and dropped his battle axe. James was just about to finish Apollo off, when he threw sand into James' eyes. James yelled out, and wiped his eyes furiously, swiping his machete wildly about. When he opened his eyes again, Apollo was gone. He scoured the area, but couldn't find him.

James rushed back to Shira, and when he reached her, she was in the same area, sobbing. James stooped down next to her. Shira, now crying uncontrollably, embraced James, who did the same, thanking God she'd be alright. When she calmed down a bit, James asked her what exactly happened.

She began her story, quietly, "I was getting some emeralds and I had just picked one up when this Japanese looking man came up on his Raptor. He demanded the emeralds but I wouldn't let him take them. He attacked me, threw me off my Raptor and punched me until I didn't know where I was. I was conscious enough to break the limbs off some trees to let you know where I was, and then he took me to the cave."

Hearing what Hijikata had done to Shira made James wish he had just exterminated the Dino Raider then and there, but he was sure he'd cross paths with him again.

Shira continued, "When I got to the cave, another man was there. He kept asking me where the other emeralds were. I didn't even know what he was talking about, so he kept cutting me."

James clenched his fists. That maniac Apollo deserved to be killed for what he had done.

"When I stopped talking, he said he'd give me time to think it over or he'd kill me. You came in just the nick of time."

James was angry, but grateful. Shira could be dead right now, but he had saved her. James carefully dressed her wounds, and gently let her on top of Alan. The Dino Raiders had stolen Lava. She was still upset by the entire affair, and when they returned to Ark Village she went directly home.

James was full of mixed emotions. He was unimaginably angry with the two murderous Dino Raiders, happy that Shira would be alright, and saddened by seeing her so helpless and frightened. When would this madness with the Dino Raiders end?

Rhino and Shadow were outraged. Rhino more so than Shadow.

"It's like the time they tried to murder you all over again! We need to hunt them down like animals!"

James calmed them down.

"Shadow, Rhino, please! I didn't call you here to talk about how much you'd love to kill Apollo. I share your sentiments more than you know! I saw Shira's bruised body on the cave floor. I fought those animals. It's time for them to make their move. Trust me, I took Hijikata down a notch."

Rhino looked up suddenly, his face even angrier, "That maniac was there with Apollo?"

James nodded.

"He's just as bad! How did Apollo even survive the grenade exploding? I threw it in the window when I saw you fighting. I agree with you on waiting, but I won't like it."

James nodded.

"Is Shira alright?" Shadow asked.

James looked down, "She was battered, bruised and cut, but I think she'll be ok."

Rhino huffed, "Them trying to murder you in cold blood is bad enough, but them hauling off and beating women?! They're worse than I thought they were!"

James nodded, rubbed his chin, and looked into the candle in the middle of the room. This was getting insane. He would go insane if this was to last any longer. But no. He would let them have their move, and then he would be ready. He needed more information about Apollo. His habits. His motives. Then he would be ready to make a direct attack.

James walked up to Shira, who was sitting on the beach, alone. He walked up beside her, the wind blowing her black hair aside. He stopped and looked into the distance, still standing up.

Shira looked up, "Hey James."

"Hi Shira, how are you holding up?"

She nodded slightly, "I'll be alright."

James stood there, watching the ocean waves crash onto the beach. He sighed. Shira kept looking at him, a concerned expression on her face. She stood up. James looked into her eyes, and Shira did the same. Soon, she smiled slightly.

"Thank you for coming for me. And fighting for me."

"I was so worried Shira. I thought I'd lost you."

"You don't have to worry about that. Im still here."

James still stood there. He took his gaze off of Shira's eyes and back into the ocean waves. Shira stood there with him.

"You think they'll be back?" Shira asked.

"I don't know Shira. We need to formulate a plan. I think we can. My goal is to protect our village. And protect you…"

Shira looked at James, who didn't look away from the ocean. There was a brief moment of silence as the two looked out. James didn't know what emotions he was feeling. Why did he feel such a sense of loss? He hadn't lost anything. The waves continued crashing against the shore. A Pteranodon soared overhead, looking for any fish it could carry away.

"What is it James?" Shira asked.

James didn't respond right away. When he tried, he hesitated.

"Im sorry I didn't find you in time."

Shira furrowed her eyebrows, understanding.

"But you did find me."

James shook his head and continued looking out to the edge of the ocean. Shira looked out with him. They kept standing there. Suddenly James felt something. Shira slowly slipped her hand into his. James looked at her again. She was looking into his eyes now. He didn't say anything. He slowly turned to face her. Instinctively, he took her other hand. He didn't know why, but it seemed like the time had finally come. He didn't know why it had taken him so long to realize how he felt, but he knew what he felt in this moment. They didn't even have to say a word.

They looked into each other's eyes a few seconds, before slowly coming closer. James cradled the back of her head and kissed her tenderly.

Apollo slowly removed the bandage from his cheek. It was still wet with blood, but he had survived. He saw the blood on his fingers. He gritted his teeth but his lips were closed. He looked upwards. Hijikata was slumped over, trying to straighten his nose that James had broken.

"Get up." Apollo demanded.

Hijikata obeyed.

Apollo stood in front of Hijikata, who looked terrified.

"Well, he's gone. Word is from our spies the two have gotten married. Little brutes."

"I did what you asked me to," Hijikata said.

"As I expected you to. As I ordered. I hope you don't expect some sort of reward for following your orders."

"Ive done everything you've ever asked. More than any other one of our soldiers would."

Apollo sounded angrier, "And Ive given you power have I not? Power im beginning to regret giving you now. Imagine. Apollo's own right hand beat down by a common tribesman defending a powerless girl. That wouldn't be too inspiring for the men would it?"

Hijikata glared at Apollo, and slowly stood up. Apollo looked him in his bruised face, calm, but filled with contempt.

"I've given everything to The Cause. I've killed dozens. I've banished traitors. I kept that filthy Roman Legionnaire from poisoning our men's minds."

Apollo nodded, "And I'm grateful for your service. But at least in those times the men could take you seriously. I'm not doubting your loyalty to me, I've made sure of that. It's a game of chess Hijikata. And sometimes pawns get…sacrificed."

Hijikata clenched his fists, "And tell me Apollo, how many mistakes have you made? How many failed plans have you brought to pass? You dare tell me of my failure?"

Apollo still looked calm. Suddenly he landed a crushing punch to Hijikata's face, sending him back into the ground with a thud. He slowly crawled away from Apollo, covering his bleeding face.

"This isn't the kind of world you think it is," Apollo said slowly walking towards Hijikata, who desperately tried to crawl away, "This is not some complex ladder you get to climb. Everything you have is because of me. Every soul you've taken was one that I let you have. Every cheer lifted in your name was one that I brought to you. And you dare question me? This is my crusade. Mine. If you've determined to get in the way of my progress, I'll have to do what I've done to so many other pawns."

Apollo stood over Hijikata, who had backed into a wall.

"Get up."

Hijikata got up again. Apollo pointed out of the cave.

"Go Hijikata. Leave and don't ever show your face to me again, unless you can prove your worth to me. And this time I will be judging much, much harsher."

Hijikata bolted out of the cave and into the night, disappearing into the blackness. Apollo sighed and looked at his dagger. He took a stone off the floor and scraped it against the metal sharply. Sparks flew and drifted down to the dirt floor where they fizzled out.


	24. Chapter 24: A Hunting Trip

Chapter 24

A Hunting Trip

James and Shira stood in front of their new home. It had started construction only a month prior, but had become a fully fledged home where they could share their new lives together. James put his arm around Shira's shoulder, her wedding ring glistening in the sunlight.

She smiled widely, "I love it James. It's perfect."

James smiled back at her and kissed her. They walked towards the house when James suddenly stopped her in front of the doorway. He grinned and chuckled.

"Now I know this is different than home but… I have to keep up traditions."

With that he gracefully picked Shira up in his strong arms and carried her over the threshold before setting her back down. James enjoyed his life now more than ever. Shira was a wonderful friend and wife, and James was proud to have her. She in turn shared the same feelings, and had an unpredictable streak that James enjoyed seeing, even if she could be a little stubborn about certain things.

Lately she had been exploring around the island with James, who thoroughly enjoyed exploring with her. Still, the distant recollection of the Dino Raiders gave James nightmares, and he would wake up with a cold sweat certain nights, dreaming that Shira was being taken prisoner by Apollo, and James could only watch in horror, not being able to move a muscle. It was terrifying, and James would often yell out, one night even swiping his fists. Shira knew what he was dreaming of, even though he rarely discussed it. James didn't want anybody fretting about his dreams. Besides, he doubted Apollo would even be back. Why would he? What did he want, and what could he want? Unless he was an absolute maniac, he couldn't attack Ark Village. They had utterly defeated Apollo, and from the looks of it had pretty much sent him into hiding. Anyway, it would be unwise for them to seek out the Dino Raiders. After Shira had been beaten, he had made a point to say that the Dino Raiders would have to be the ones to shoot first.

Later one night, he looked out over the balcony, seeing the huge expanse of the Ark before him. It spread out for tens of miles, the quiet cries of dinosaurs in the distance.

"James, are you coming to bed?" Shira asked.

James nodded, "Yes, I'll be there in a minute!"

He took one last look out over the Ark before going to bed for the night.

He heard a scream. What? Where was that coming from? It sounded like it was coming from...He looked and saw Shira. She was standing in the middle of a foggy clearing in the forest. It was her scream he heard, but now she was standing there, with a cold look on her face. He walked over and tried to reach her. She stepped back, and spoke. James was startled so violently his heart skipped a beat. It was Apollo's voice! She suddenly whipped out a knife.

James sat up straight in bed. These dreams were becoming more and scary. More and more real. He breathed heavily, covered his face in his hands, and sighed deeply. He got up and looked out of the window. Shira was there. Sleeping as peaceful as a lamb. It almost pained him to see after the dream he had. Her black hair draped over her pillow, she made no sound. He could barely hear her breathing. A tear formed in James' eye. This was madness! He pulled himself together and got back in bed. Before falling asleep, the last thing he saw was Shira's peaceful face, glowing slightly in the moonlight, her closed eyes haunting James' deepest fears.

James was ready for something different. He was done with village matters for a while. He wanted to do something else. Just he and Shira. Some of his fondest memories on the island was going on solitary hunting trips in the deep wilderness. He had wanted to go towards the North near where Pembe was at. He wouldn't go that far up however, since there were no other game asides from the Kairuku. Instead, he would venture just below the icy part, and enter the deciduous forest. Since he was hunting alone, the risk of meeting some giant dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus or Spinosaurus or even a renegade pack of Raptors would be minimized. Instead, the biggest threat would be a hungry Dire Wolf or Smilodon.

James and Shira had set out. James was on his Smilodon and Shira was on her Kaprosuchus. Strangely, it seemed that since Kaprosuchus had a higher metabolism than most crocodilians, it could stay more active in temperatures much lower than most other crocs could. In fact, only when ice was on the ground is when the Kaprosuchus' cold blood started to really get cold.

They traveled the entire day, and then camped for the night. James rolled out Shira's blanket on the forest floor, and posted torches around the perimeter. He then rolled out his own blanket and grunted as his stiffened body crashed down on the leaf litter, prompting James to let out a big, satisfying sigh as he laid down.

Shira looked up at him and smiled.

"We haven't really been able to be alone together until now."

James nodded, "I know. I'm sorry."

Shira raised her body up a bit and rolled over on her side to face James.

"It's not your fault, you've just become so much more worried than you once were. You seem to be carrying more weight."

James closed his eyes and looked into his wife's concerned face. He needed to answer her questions. He needed to get some things off his chest or it would drive him mad.

"Shira, it's just that I'm more worried about a lot of things now. Ever since you were drug off by Apollo." Shira smiled and shifted her body, resting her head on James' chest.

"I won't leave you. I don't want you to worry."

"I know. There's just so much more now. Even Rhino and Shadow are more distant now. I know that we each have our own crosses to bear and people to tend to, but I just miss the early days. When it was just me and the jungle and freedom! When the Dino Raiders were unknown."

Shira sighed. She could sense the pain in James' voice.

James sighed, "I don't want to burden you with my troubles Shira. I need to be strong for you. Let's just forget everything now. We're alone and the stars are out."

Shira smiled and nodded. James took her hand and they looked upwards, the stars shining quietly like fragile diamonds glistening in the inky darkness.

When they woke up, James had cooked up some of the meat they had brought for breakfast. Then, they both entered the forest. James had his bow and arrows. He had considered taking the gun, but why? He felt truly free when a bowstring was tight between his fingers, his ears pricked for signs of life. James was the better hunter, but Shira was a better cook, and a surprisingly good tracker. She could also serve as another set of eyes, which is all too important during a hunt.

Shira forked some of the sausage into her mouth. She closed her eyes and looked at James, "Did you make these sausages?"

"Yes I did," replied James.

"It's so good!"

James was surprised. He had no idea she enjoyed sausages. Come to think of it, he did have access to the only smokehouse in Ark Village, near the dodo farm.

"Well, thanks." he said.

Shira looked up, "When you were younger did you go on any hunts?"

James thought about it and replied, "A few times. It wasn't a huge hobby of mine but I did it when the opportunity arose. How about you?"

Shira shook her head, "I never did. This is a first time for me."

James chuckled, "Enjoying it?"

Shira nodded vigorously "I'm in the beautiful forest with my husband eating delicious food and camping under the stars. If this isn't what heaven is like I'm going to be disappointed."

James was doubly surprised.

"I'll take that as a yes."

She smiled and James smiled back before looking up at the sky.

"Well it's cloudy, that's good. No shadows. Any animals won't be able to see us as easily. Whenever you're ready we can go."

Shira swallowed the last bite of her sausage and waved, "Ready now." she said with her mouth half full.

James chuckled and shook his head, and Shira came up beside him. Shira and James looked into the forest. It was about 60 degrees and quite dry, not humid like it was back in Ark Village. It was a welcome relief to the two, who sometimes grew extremely tired of the enveloping humidity. They had tied up their mounts back at camp, which was in a protected cove. They didn't worry about any Dino Raiders this far North, and felt more at ease. They carefully treaded over hills, keeping quiet. After another hour they sat down and waited for the prey to come to them. James sat down, keeping an arrow ready in the bow. Shira sat next to him and they scanned the horizon for signs of life.

After an hour something stirred. James carefully got up, told Shira to wait, and stalked over. There was a cliff right ahead about 30 feet high. The creature that had created the noise was a wild boar. James knew that other creatures lived on the island that also lived back at home, like the Coelacanth, and the wild boar must be one of them. He carefully drew the bow. He aimed, but the boar had its back to him.

He quietly muttered to himself, "Come on...turn a bit more...Come on..."

The boar fortunately turned broadside to him. He loosed, and hit the boar in the head. It went down, and James went over towards it.

He yelled over, "Hey Shira, I'm over here! I got a wild boar!"

After a minute or two she arrived, and smiled at it.

"More fresh sausage tonight!" she said excitedly.

James laughed, "You start to get sick of it here soon."

Shira scoffed, "Never!"

They started cleaning it when they heard something rustling in the leaf litter. James got out his bow and arrows. Then something large and grey emerged from the leaf litter, quietly, but with a distinct feel of danger. James saw it coming and then it burst over growling and snarling. It was a Dire Wolf.

"Get behind me!" James yelled to Shira.

James knew that to defend himself from a wolf, you must make yourself look as intimidating and loud as possible. James got out his knife and waited for a charge. The huge wolf growled, and James yelled intimidatingly. The wolf barked viciously and charged right for James. James saw the wolf jump, and at just the right moment, took his knife, held it in front of him and stabbed the wolf through the heart. Shira yelped in terror and desperately shoved the wolf off of James, who got up and hugged Shira. He skinned the wolf, and harvested the boar's meat. They went back to camp and cooked dinner.

As they were eating, Shira looked at James, "What will you use the wolf skin for?"

James chuckled, "Make a chieftain's headdress out of it?"

Shira laughed, "Or I could use it as a warning to all other wolves in the area."

"Not a bad idea."

In the middle of their meal, they heard a wolf howling alarmingly close to their camp. Shira's eyes were wide, and James quickly grabbed a torch and looked out. The torchlight illuminated four giant Dire Wolves snarling near the edge of the cliff. James yelled and boldly rushed at them flailing the fiery torch. The wolves all shied away from the flames and whined. One of the wolves tried to bite James but he landed the torch on its snout. It yelped and pawed its snout before running off into the forest. It must've been the pack leader since the rest of them followed suit.

He kept watch for a while before returning to the camp. Shira was wide awake, scanning the horizon and clutching a knife.

"It's alright," James said reassuringly, "You can relax now I scared them off."

"What was it out there?"

"Four Dire Wolves. The fire scared them all off."

James lit several more torches around the perimeter and built up the fire a bit more before going back to bed. Shivering, he quickly got underneath the thick blanket. Shira and James were in the same bedroll to heat each other up. Last night hadn't been very cold, but tonight it was below freezing. James couldn't sleep, and was awake for a while. Later, he heard Shira's teeth chattering. He took off the coat he had on and draped it over Shira. She looked at James, and tried to give it back but him, but he put it back on Shira and smiled. She smiled back and closed her eyes. James felt good, the cold couldn't do anything to him now.

James was up, thankfully it was much warmer now, in the high 50's. It was a welcome relief to James and Shira, who had both spent a miserable night shivering in a bedroll on the forest floor. Shira was building the fire up a bit more and getting the cooking pan out of the knapsack. She then got out some of the sausage from the hog James had killed, and cooked up a delicious breakfast. James smiled at Shira.

She looked up, "What is it James?"

"You're enjoying yourself aren't you?"

Shira laughed, "What gave it away?"

The sausage was cooked and they sat down to eat.

"This was a great idea. I'm really enjoying this."

Shira nodded. "Should we maybe visit Pembe?"

James chuckled, but he knew they couldn't, since he was too far up, and they didn't have sufficient clothing. They were probably too far up as they were. He told Shira as much.

"Oh well. I would like to visit him sometime soon though..."

"No reason not to."

They continued eating and Shira got up and sat back down closer to James. He smiled, and continued eating his breakfast.

He had shot a deer, and a wild goat. It seemed that while the Southern area of the island was almost entirely composed of extinct creatures, the Northern areas had some creatures that were common back home like the wild boar, the deer and wild goats. That evening he was stalking around the woods and Shira was back at the camp. He spotted a deer and he crept ever closer to it. It was late in the evening and almost all the light was gone, but there was just enough to let him make a clean shot. He aimed, and got a lung-shot. The deer leapt into the air and James followed.

After tracking it by torchlight, he found it in the weeds, and harvested it. After gathering the meat, he realized that the fastest route back to camp was through a deep marshy area. He climbed into the water when suddenly something grabbed his pack blindingly fast. He instinctively grabbed his knife and stabbed the creature repeatedly. When the thing went belly-up, he saw it was a young Sarcosuchus. He swum violently over to the other side of the marsh and breathing heavily, rushed away from the marsh. James knew it was a young Sarcosuchus, but why was it way up here? He didn't know, and right now he didn't care.

After returning to the camp, he saw Shira jump up and tear towards James. James suddenly got worried.

"Shira what's wrong?!"

Shira stared into the distance west of them and said, "There's an outpost out there. It's...It's...A Dino Raiders base!"


	25. Chapter 25: Melee Weapons

Chapter 25

Melee Weapons

James looked at Shira, "What do you mean? Where?"

"Over beyond the ridge, a small outpost of Dino Raiders with about seven people in it. I was just getting some wood for the fire when I saw the smoke from a distance. I got a bit closer and saw the Dino Raiders insignia on one of the tents."

"Should we take them on alone?"

"What? You're going to engage them?"

"Not unless I have to."

"You should take the Smilodon and the Kaprosuchus along for the fight."

James nodded, "Look I don't want you in the fight, but you could follow at a distance behind me with a bow and arrow and snipe some of the Dino Raiders with the bow. You're a great shot, you could do it."

Shira nodded.

James continued, "I'm going to take the Smilodon and you can take your Kaprosuchus. If I was a Dino Raider I'd think twice before engaging that scaly sawblade!"

They agreed, and formed their battle plan in case things went wrong.

James was going to use his iron club, since he had given his bow and arrow to Shira. She was following behind him in the shadows and James went on ahead, with his Smilodon following beside him. He saw the outpost. There were three huts and about fifteen Dino Raiders outside in the court. It seemed like they were huddled around something. James saw that it was a human. They were beating the person.

James couldn't see the person's face, but he needed to rescue him. He kept looking over the scene, trying to formulate a plan when he heard a scream right behind him. He spun around, wide-eyed and saw a Dino Raider dead on the ground with an arrow in his back. James couldn't see Shira, but he waved. He turned back around, and let his Smilodon loose. It roared and sped into the court, tearing into a Dino Raider. This disbanded the Dino Raiders who all ran away from the enraged black Smilodon.

James advanced and rushed a Dino Raider, who threw a spear at James. He missed, and James brought him down. He killed another Dino Raider, and then realized that he was alone. He rushed behind a large boulder. He had a good view if any Dino Raiders would come toward him. He had a small slingshot he could fling decent sized rocks out of. He got it out and saw three Dino Raiders come towards him. He killed one with the slingshot and set the Smilodon out, who killed the other two. Suddenly one came from behind the rock and James was knocked to the ground. The Dino Raider raised a knife above his head, but then an arrow hit him and he fell. Shira had saved his life again. He rushed into the court again, and several Dino Raiders were being attacked by the Smilodon, which was now tearing into the Dino Raiders on its own. He whistled for the Smilodon, which came over. James mounted it and rushed on three more Dino Raiders. The Smilodon killed them all and then suddenly the Kaprosuchus rushed down on James. It went up to James, with a note on its saddle.

It said, "More are coming. Perimeter guards. Run!"

James took Shira's advice, but not before looking for the prisoner. But he was nowhere to be found, so he took the animals and retreated. They were able to make a clean escape unseen.

James had arrived back at Ark Village, and he took Shira back to their house.

Shira looked at James, "What will you do now?"

"I'm getting Rhino and Shadow and we're rescuing that man and destroying any other Dino Raider filth there. We must stamp it out! I'll be taking Alan, and Shadow will be on his Megalosaurus."

"I'm coming too."

"Shira no. I can't lose you! You've already been captured by those animals!"

"That's why I want to go. I'll be a sniper like you said last time." James didn't like the idea, but he reluctantly accepted.

Rhino and Shadow were in the stables, gathering their armor.

"Let's hunt some scum!" said Rhino.

Shadow saddled up his Megalosaurus and Rhino mounted Batya. They each were ready, and James got Alan, and Shira mounted her Kaprosuchus.

After a half day of hard riding they had reached the outpost. Shira was set up on a high cliff with a bow and arrow. She was well hidden, and well armored. James knew that there would be more Dino Raiders coming, and more were probably already there.

He looked at Rhino and Shadow. Shadow was the first to charge out on his Megalosaurus, which roared and grabbed a Dino Raider in its vice-grip jaws. Batya sprinted in, screeching. She jumped on top of another Dino Raider which fell to the ground. There were about thirty now, but James saw several of them fall from unseen arrows being shot by Shira up on the ridge. The Kaprosuchus was mauling several others and Alan was slicing through the ranks as well. James got out his bow and arrows and shot at some of them on his way to the cage he had seen. When he got to it, he saw the man inside. It was Pembe! This time though, he was stripped of his fur garments and he had a large bruise on his face.

James quickly rushed over and Pembe looked at James and said, "I guess'n these traders are anti-penguin."

James looked for the lock and found it. He was about to bust it open when a voice he recognized all too well spoke up.

"Leave that lock alone."

James suddenly looked up at the face of Hijikata. James stood up. Hijikata looked calm but there was a savage look in his eye.

"Leave that lock alone, or your miserable wretch of a wife will die."

"Where is she?"

Hijikata drug her from behind him. Shira looked at James but she didn't seem scared in the least. James knew she had some sort of plan.

She mouthed, "Stall him."

James didn't have much time, but he could see Rhino, Shadow and the animals absolutely mowing the Dino Raiders down.

"Let her go Hijikata! You don't want to do this." Hijikata suddenly jerked his knife up to Shira's throat. James lunged forward but forced himself to hold back.

Hijikata continued, "Apollo has asked for her. I need to take her. It's the only way to redeem myself to him. I'm taking her now, and if you resist, I will cut her throat!"

Shira suddenly landed a sharp kick with her spiked shoes. Hijikata yelled and dropped her. Shira squirmed out of his grip and ran over to James.

Hijikata, with blood running down his calf got up and said, "Always has to be the hard way."

He rushed, lifting his knife aloft. James rushed him and pulled out his knife. They made quick stabs at each other, frenzied looks on their faces. Hijikata ducked and attempted to slice James' gut. James jumped back and dodged to the side, quickly landing a jabbing punch to Hijikata's face. Hijikata quickly regained himself and charged forward, trying to tackle James to the ground. James dodged the reckless charge just in time, and stabbed Hijikata in the shoulder. Hijikata yelled angrily and turned around, lifting his knife with his other hand. They stood there, looking at each other. No words were spoken, Hijikata rushed James. James grappled, locking his arms before shoving his elbow in Hijikata's chin. Stunned, Hijikata swiped furiously with his knife. James grabbed his arm and twisted it viciously. Hijikata screamed and lost his grip on the knife. It fell to the ground. James tried stabbing again but Hijikata ducked and punched James in the gut. Before James could regain his footing, Hijikata kicked James' foot from under him. James fell to the ground and Hijikata started choking him out. James tried shoving him off his body but he couldn't. Hijikata suddenly looked up to see Alan charging forward, Shira on his back, claws outstretched and teeth bared. Alan knocked the Dino Raider off of James and pinned him to the ground with his clawed foot. James coughed and rolled over before getting up.

Alan was hissing in Hijikata's face. James walked over to Hijikata, who was struggling to escape the Raptor. Shira was still riding Alan, ready to command the dinosaur. James towered over Hijikata, angrily.

Hijikata laughed, "Well. I guess this is it?"

James said nothing. He looked at Shira. Suddenly James heard a shout. A Dino Raider rushed him lifting a club. James unsheathed his machete and charged. Hijikata laughed and pulled a throwing knife out of his pant leg. He shoved the blade into Alan's foot. The Raptor screeched and let go of Hijikata, who rolled over, got up and grabbed his knife off the ground.

"Whoa Alan!" Shira shouted.

Suddenly Shira felt something slam into her head. Hijikata had thrown a rock. She fell to the ground. James, still fighting the Dino Raider, saw it out of the corner of his eye.

"Shira!" he shouted.

He suddenly shoved the machete into the Dino Raider, killing him.

Hijikata grabbed Shira and pulled her up, before punching her in the face, knocking her down. James whistled sharply, and Alan screeched, and pounced. Hijikata, still knife raised to kill Shira, looked up and saw the Raptor. He was slammed onto the ground and the Raptor finally finished him off for good. James rushed over to Shira, who had a large bruise on her temple. She was disoriented but conscious.

"Im ok James," she said with half closed eyes, "Where's Shadow and Rhino?"

There were only five Dino Raiders left. Rhino shot one, and the Megalosaurus killed the rest. They had won. Shira got up slowly and bandaged her head. James looked at her with concern but she hadn't been hurt too badly.

They all dismounted and started entering the tents and raiding them. They found some suitable armor, and James destroyed the metal lock to the cage and freed Pembe.

"Thank You'ns for helpin' me outa this'n here place. It's hot enough to cook an egg out here."

It was about 45 degrees.

James asked, "Why are you here?"

"Well I was tendin' to the Penguins, can't ever leave em' alone, especially the troublemakers! I feed em' and water em' and still they wander off sometimes and I have to herd em' back with my Beatin' Stick and that can-"

James decided to intervene, "Pembe! How did you get here?"

Pembe snapped out of it, "Oh, sorry. Well these people'n were the traders that come by to give me supplies for the Penguins. I told em' about you'ns vistitn' and they didn't take to kindly to that. They told me to tell em' all about you'ns and when I told em' all I knew they called me a liar and took me away, and now I'm here in this'n here tropical place."

Rhino looked at James, "They were trying to get information from him."

"Yes but why?" Shadow replied, "What would he know?" Pembe shrugged. "I better be gittin' back to the Penguins. I can walk. See you'ns later!" They waved and Pembe strode off, but not before getting his furs out of one of the tents.

They were each confused about the entire affair, but they had won.

Rhino said, "Well there's a bunch of Dino Raider trash we don't have to worry about..."

"Yes but I'm sure Apollo will hear about this." Shadow replied.

"From who? He may not even know that they were out here, let alone look for them. I say that we had a clean victory, and I intend to celebrate. After all, that mangy Hijikata has been defeated forever! He's not in the picture anymore."

James and Shadow both looked at each other uneasily.

"That's what I'm worried about. It wasn't just a random batch of renegade Dino Raiders, Hijikata was working in closely with Apollo. Maybe Hijikata was sent here for an intended purpose, and Apollo will start to wonder where he is. He'll come looking for him, and find this place and it'll be Hell on earth for us if he attacks."

James shook his head, "No I don't think so."

Shadow looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"He also wasn't wearing as nice clothing as he was when I saw him last, and yes he was working closely with Apollo, but not now. He kept saying he needed to take Shira to prove himself or something like that. I say he fell out of favor, and he was here to try to redeem himself. Anybody could see that Pembe didn't know anything, and the fact that Hijikata took him was some desperate attempt at redemption."

Shadow rubbed his chin...this was making sense.

"Besides, if this was a really important operation I'm dead sure Apollo would be here. Well, he isn't. He's God knows where haunting our village. Every Dino Raider was out here with us, and if there was any leftover that would be sent as couriers, they would have to cross the swamp on one side, or climb the ridge on the other. If they climbed the ridge Shira would've seen them. I don't think Apollo would even care if he heard about this. He may even be glad to have Hijikata off his hands. Bottom line, we won, and if Apollo hears about this, it'll be from another source we had no idea of. Besides, this isn't a permanent village, it's an outpost."

Rhino said, "I agree with James. I'd say there's nothing to worry about."

They decided to explore the Eastern way home. The Western way home led through the swamp and forest where they had first tamed the Kaprosuchus. The Eastern way had remained unexplored, and so they packed up and headed back South. Even so, they'd have to traverse more of the chilly deciduous forest. There might be more undiscovered creatures still in the forest that he wanted to find. After packing they each got started making back to Ark Village.

After a whole day of travel, they bedded down. It was about 4:00 in the evening and still plenty of light out. It wouldn't be dark for another four hours yet. He wasn't tired, so he decided to explore a bit. He took his Smilodon out but didn't ride him, the cat simply following beside him. He was looking at the ground when suddenly something caught his eye. It was a track. But it was a type of track James was afraid he'd see: a gigantic bear footprint. They led down the ridge from where he was at. He didn't bother going back to tell the others, instead following the trackways down until he met something. There was a large tree stump that had been ripped open, with honeycomb littered on the forest floor. It had been done quite recently, as bees were still swarming.

"Hungry bear." James said.

He followed the tracks down the ridge, still going. He kept moving, tracking it. The footprints were much bigger than even a grizzly bear. Then the ridge ended and came down to a small lake, about a quarter mile long, and half a mile wide. As he went, he saw a creature he had never seen before: A wooly Rhinoceros, or Coelodonta in the fossil record. It was huge, and bulky, with a body shaped like a barrel. It was also quite large, and was grazing on the grass. He admired the creature, and passed by it after quickly sketching it on the notepad he always kept with him. He kept tracking it for two more hours, and then the sun went down. He knew his way back to camp, and he wasn't worried. Then the moon came out, and thankfully was an extremely bright full moon.

He got up on a hill and looked down when he saw it. It was a bear the size of which is unrivalled by any today. It was a huge Dire Bear, about the size of a bison. He stood in awe of it. Suddenly the bear stopped, got on its hind legs and sniffed the air, before looking directly at James. Baring its teeth, the huge bear roared and charged. James set the Smilodon on the beast. They collided in an audible crashing together of fur, claws and solid muscle. The Smilodon grabbed the bear, which roared and swiped. James landed several more arrows to it when the bear started to run. He ran after the bear, and the Smilodon charged as well. The bear then spun around, and they began wrestling, both on their back legs pushing, shoving and biting. Then the Smilodon roared and pushed the bear over which crashed into the ground on its back, the Smilodon biting and slashing. Then the Smilodon went for the throat, and killed the Dire Bear. James was breathing heavily, he went up to the bear's carcass. How could this creature be tamed? He knew that it could, but just how it could was a mystery.

After returning to camp with the skin of the bear Shira gasped and ran up to James, "Where were you James I was worried sick!"

He held up the enormous skin and Shadow lunged up, "What is that?"

"A Dire Bear."

After explaining what it was and where he found it, they went to bed. After traveling for about half a day they came to an enormous plain, and what was in it took their breath away. There was a huge herd of peaceful plant eating dinosaurs in the clearing. There was a group of Sauropods James recognized as Diplodocus, which was undiscovered until now. They were a lot smaller than the Apatosaurus, only about two thirds their size, but looked down at the company and bellowed.

One of the Diplodocus broke off from the herd and started to follow James. James tested it. He did an erratic walk and the Diplodocus copied it. he held out a bunch of cycads and the Diplodocus lowered its head and ate them. He had the first tamed Diplodocus, marveling at how friendly the dinosaur was.

Shadow was off looking at some of the other dinosaurs. There were Stegosaurus and Triceratops, but there were also some other species in there he hadn't ever seen before. He saw Shadow taming a creature he suddenly got very excited about. It was large, about 18 feet long, and with a large domed head. It was a Pachycephalosaurus. James didn't interrupt the taming process but when the taming was completed Shadow got up on the Pachy bareback. It bellowed and charged forward, causing Shadow to fall off of it laughing. The Pachy, when it realized Shadow wasn't on his back, whipped around, and frantically looked for Shadow, who called out. The Pachy returned, and Shadow pet its scaly nose.

James chuckled, "Well I've tamed a Diplodocus without even trying, and you've done the same thing with a Pachycephalosaurus."

Shadow laughed, "These creatures are much friendlier than I ever expected."

"I don't know, Those Diplodocus over there seem a little unintelligent if you ask me."

"Less intelligent than the Apatosaurs?"

James nodded. They were about to return to the group when Shira and Rhino came rushing over towards them.

Shira yelled, "Predators! Giant Theropods, run!"

They ran and the creatures came into view. They were large, and white with brown backs, and two crests on their heads. They were about 30 feet long, and there were three of them. He could tell that one of them was the Alpha. They circled a lone Diplodocus, which strangely took no notice of the predators. The Theropods then began slamming their top jaws into the Diplodocus, doing quick bites and slashes before bringing the creature down.

"Those are Allosaurus," James said, "I've never seen them before."

Shadow looked at the creatures, and jotted down notes and quick sketches. The Alpha ate first, and the largest portion, the others not daring to even snatch a morsel. Then the Alpha finished gorging and the others tore into the carcass. They kept watching the beasts. The other Diplodocus hadn't even seemed to notice or care about the hungry Allosaurs when they entered the field. It furthered the theory that this sub-species of Diplodocus was naive indeed.

They reached Ark Village with their two new creatures. Shadow had written up the new dossiers for the creatures, and decided to take another expedition out to the area, with more people of course. The only thing that bothered James was if he was wrong. What if Apollo did know about the mission? Would he attack? Shira was a hair's breadth away from being killed by Hijikata, what if...what if...No. He knew that what ifs were useless and that he'd only waste his valuable time if he thought about it. He'd wait. He'd had his day, and Hijikata was now gone. He'd won. That night he went over to the stables. Shira was there, playing with the Pachy. She and the Pachy both looked up when James approached.

"Does Shadow have a name?" asked James.

"Oh yes, Rocky."

James rolled his eyes, "You're joking!"

Shira shook her head, "Could've been worse, I persuaded him to call it Rocky instead of Rock Hamster."

James laughed, "Rock what?!"

Shira shrugged.

James laughed, "Of all the names I could've...Oh well."

Shira got up. "I made dinner inside. I just wanted to visit Rocky before we ate."

James said, "Alright. Let's eat."


	26. Chapter 26: Cold Wet Stone

Chapter 27

Cold Wet Stone

James and Shira were on the beach. He was looking into the deep waters, and ever since he had tamed the Mosasaur, which still swam freely around the bay, he had made it a sort of tradition to sit on the beach, even for a few minutes to watch the waves go by whenever he could. He had enjoyed it even more since he'd married Shira, who watched the waves alongside him. They sat on the sand, and talked. It was one of the few times out of the day that they could sit back and talk alone. Not a soul was to be seen. "Shadow is talking about mounting another mission to the Eastern Plains soon." said Shira. James nodded, "Yes I'd like to go there again myself. We discovered three new species in under a half hour, there could be countless others out there still waiting to be discovered." Shira chuckled, "You've always been so passionate about this place. Don't you miss your life back home?" James thought. "No. Actually Shira I don't miss it. I far prefer the life I have now. The life I have with you." Shira smiled, "Thank you. I don't know still. I love this place, I love the creatures here, I love who we've met here, I just miss some of the things back home. I don't know...I'll have to get over it I guess. This is our home as far as I know now." James nodded. "Is there anything I could do to help?" Shira smiled, "No. But I would spend an entire month sleeping in the stables if i could get just one small piece of chocolate!" James laughed, "If that's your biggest thing on your wish list I think you're living it pretty good." Shira chuckled, "Have you seen any cocoa trees anywhere on the island?" James shook his head. "Sugarcane, but no cocoa." Shira said, "I won't give up hope until we've discovered every plant on this island!" James laughed, "Dream on."

The time had come, and the preparations had been made. They were about to explore the area where they had discovered the Diplodocus a few weeks earlier. James was going to be taking his Diplodocus, which he had named Dippy. He and Shira would be riding Dippy, and Shadow would be riding his Megalosaurus. Rhino was also tagging along, riding Batya. The location was right in the middle between Ark Village and the Northern Forest where James and Shira had destroyed the Dino Raider camp. The Diplodocus was about as fast as a Triceratops, which wasn't too slow by any means. He enjoyed his Diplodocus very much, and had learned quite a bit about the creature. It indeed was quite unintelligent, but was so trusting of humans, James really didn't need to tame it at all. It was definitely of the friendliest creatures on the island. Rhino didn't see any need to tame one of his own, calling Diplodocus a "Naive, brain-dead creature." He was partly right sadly. They reached the plain at dusk, and camped for the night.

The next day Rhino woke up everybody. "Everybody look!" he said, "There's two creatures in the plain I've never seen before. Shadow got up, "What are they?" Rhino said back, "Here, look for yourself." They walked into the clearing and saw two large creatures. There was one that looked like a small Triceratops, and another that looked like a large herbivore. They walked up to the Ceratopsian. It was a dinosaur called Pachyrinosaurus. This strange Ceratopsian had a thick slab of bone on its nose and two large horns sticking straight up from its frill. It was about 20 feet long, and James took out a tranquilizer arrow. The Pachyrinosaur looked at James, and didn't do anything. Suddenly, James didn't feel like tranquilizing it anymore. he put his arrows away and walked away. Suddenly, he realized what happened. He wanted to tranq that thing, what stopped him. He took out his bow and arrows again and walked towards the creature. The Pachyrinosaurus looked at him again. He said to himself, "I will tranq this thing!" He walked a bit closer and then he suddenly felt like putting his arrows away again. He whipped out the arrows again but couldn't bring himself to shoot the Pachyrinosaur. He violently shook his head, and shot the creature with the tranq arrow. Then a few more before the Pachyrinosaurus was brought down and he began to tame it. He couldn't understand what had happened to him. Why had he suddenly become unaggressive to the creature? He couldn't understand it until he noticed something peculiar around the creatures thick nose pad. There were two large holes above the nostrils that seemed to be emitting some sort of yellow gas that dissipated after a while. James didn't know this at the time, but this particular sub-species of Pachyrinosaurus had an extremely bizarre form of defense. It would release a pheromone when it sensed danger, causing any aggressive predators around it to become passive towards it. Not even humans are immune to this effect, though if you force yourself you can overcome it. After a few hours, James had tamed the creature, and suddenly realized he had been alone this entire time. He left the Pachyrinosaurus alone and went off looking for Shadow, Rhino and Shira. He found them a little ways away, with Shira on the back of a dinosaur he had never seen before. It was an Iguanodon, a large Ornithopod that was either bipedal or quadrupedal. It was about 30 feet long, and they had already tamed the animal. James then suddenly rushed back to his Pachyrinosaurus. It was awake, and when he came up to it, he saw that it was tamed. James got on its back and rode it around. It was a friendly creature, though a bit smaller than the Triceratops. He took it back to camp and put a harness on it before tying it to a large branch and sitting down on the forest floor. James saw Shira come up on the Iguanodon and tie it to a different branch. She came over and sat down next to James. "I bet Shadow is already penning the dossier." Shira laughed, "Oh yes he is. You should've seen how excited he was at the Iguanodon. He and Rhino are taming their own ones now. I just came up here for a little break." James asked, "How did you tame it?" Shira responded, "Well the same way you would tame a Triceratops: you tranq it, and feed it while its dazed, then it's tamed when it wakes up." James nodded, "OK, did you see anything else? Any carnivores?" Shira shook her head no. "Good." said James. They kept talking when suddenly they heard a screech above their heads. They both looked up to see a large raven-sized bird looking down on them. It was light pinkish-grey, and had a long feathery tail, with a bare head and teeth in its mouth. It also had claws on its wings. It was an Archaeopteryx, a bird that had remained undiscovered until now. He looked at it, whipped out his sketch pad, quickly drew it, and then looked at it. He was amazed at it. The Archaeopteryx began climbing down the tree, and then it crawled along the ground. Suddenly something spooked it, and it darted along the ground before taking off, flapping its wings violently. Shira looked at James and said, "Well Shadow will be in a good mood today..."

After spending some time in the field, they got to know their dinosaurs better. After a comical hour of climbing trees and swiping at it with a net, Shadow was able to capture the Archaeopteryx. He put it in a small cage he had brought just in case he'd find a small creature like this. It was slightly larger than a raven, and seemed terrified of everything around it. Shadow tried feeding it but it refused almost everything he game him. It turned out that Archaeopteryx was quite a picky eater, and would only eat very few things. They ended up releasing it, with Shadow watching as it flew away far into the distance. They spent the rest of their day familiarizing themselves with their new mounts. They named the Iguanodon Iggy, and the Pachyrinosaurus they named Patchi. It turned out that the same pheromone that could cause a person or animal to lose aggression with it could be reversed, making the person or animal become more aggressive towards it, though James couldn't see a reason for the Pachyrinosaurus to use that trait.

James decided to pack up and move on. They were going to go a bit further east towards the unexplored area there. As they went, they entered jungle once more. Patchi seemed just as at home in the plains as the jungle, though the Iguanodon seemed to prefer the plains. "Hopefully we'll find more creatures where we're going." said Shadow. "You'll be the one taming it if we do." said Rhino. Shadow laughed, "Of course I will be!" he said. James looked over at Shira, who was riding the Diplodocus, which surprisingly didn't get stuck in the thick tangled jungle. After a while, the thickness of the jungle began to clear, and it was becoming easier to get around. Batya was leashed up to the Diplodocus, since Rhino had requested a ride on Patchi. Shadow was riding the Megalosaurus, with the Iguanodon tied up to it. They traversed for quite a while when suddenly Rhino spoke up, "Hey, look over there." They all turned to see a huge rocky outcrop. Shadow said, "Hmm. I'm going to take a look over there. Could be something else over there." Rhino said, "Remember who'll be taming it..." Shadow chuckled and moved over to it. James looked at Shira, "Having fun yet?" he asked, "Shira said, "I'll be having even more if Shadow finds something over there." Shadow suddenly yelled, "Hey guys, everybody come over here! It's a huge cave!" They all excitedly ran over, and sure enough, right behind the outcropping they saw was the huge, yawning mouth of a cave. Big enough for even an Apatosaurus to enter with room to spare. James looked at everybody, "Who wants to go inside?" They each looked at each other as if asking permission from each other. Shadow, as expected, was the first one to light a torch and enter. They each looked at each other as if to say, 'well?' James and Shira were next, with Rhino his eyes taking up the rear. "If there's some sort of abomination in here, I'm blaming you Shadow!" said Rhino.

They stared into the blackness of the cave. It was so high, with the ceiling above 70 feet high. It was wide enough for them to fit comfortably in side by side. Soon though, they had to go single file. There were tall stalactites on the ceiling and the walls were brownish green, and grey in the wetter places. In some places there were white, smooth calcite deposits where water dripped down the walls. Rhino looked all around. So far there hadn't been any creatures aside from a stray centipede that scurried around the cave walls. Shira looked around mystified. She hadn't ever been inside of a cave this large before. She looked at the huge stalactites and stalagmites on the walls and floor like tall stone spikes. She raised her eyebrow and looked at James, "James?" she asked, and James looked over at her, "Yeah?" "How do you remember which ones are called stalactites and which ones are called stalagmites?" James said, "Oh that's easy, I learned it in school when I was ten. Tites are on the top...and mites are in the mud." Shira poured it over in her head and said, "Alright that makes sense. Thanks James." He nodded and chuckled to himself as Shira's eyes were in the air looking up and down at the stalactites and stalagmites. That little reminder in science class in 4th grade finally paid off.

The cave walls narrowed to the point that Dippy was having a harder and harder to pass through the cave walls. They decided to leave Dippy behind. They tied him up to a small stone arch and continued on. There were no creatures and Dippy would be safe. They continued on, and the cave was a long, straight tunnel that went down slightly. It almost looked as if it had been burrowed by some enormous creature. What exactly could've done it was a mystery, but whatever did it must've done it a long time ago, since there were some very mature stalactites and stalagmites, even huge pillars where the stalagmites and stalactites met and fused together. They kept going on and on, when suddenly they entered a massive room, so absolutely enormous it took James' breath away. There was a strange eerie green light. What was making it and where it was coming from they didn't know, but it must've come from some bioluminescent life-form. Possibly some bioluminescent mushroom. When they came out into the room, they found out that they were on a ledge. The floor of the cave was over 50 feet down. The ledge was large, and extended out. Shira gasped in awe at the spectacle. When they looked up at the ceiling, they saw something they really weren't hoping to see: a huge flock of Onychonycteris, or the Giant Bat. They were all roosting up on the cave ceiling, and some were wide awake and looking right at James and the others. Batya growled, and one of the bats detached itself from the ceiling and flew up onto a higher perch. James whispered to the others, "Well this room is amazing but we're no match for a huge flock of Giant Bats. Let's move on." They all nodded, and began to move. Without warning the entire flock of over 30 bats began screaming and flapping their huge dragonish wings. While 30 may not seem like a huge flock, keep in mind that Onychonycteris on the island are the size of an eagle, and 30 made an unforgettable clamor. Then all of the bats were gone. It seemed as if the room was much bigger, and since their lamps and the eerie green light wasn't too bright, there was cave wall that was still in darkness. They looked around as if to spot what had caused the bat's panicked evacuation, and Batya began growling and screeching. They saw a huge shape suddenly dart away. They waited. Suddenly a huge head darted past James, narrowly missing him. He looked down at it, and the rest of its enormous coiled body caught up. It was a giant snake. It was olive green with purple iridescent scales, and it had a strange frill on its head. The snake reared up and hissed loudly, before lashing out again at Batya, who darted out from in front of the gigantic snake's vice-gripe jaw. The snake wasn't just big, but positively vast. It's back was a full three feet off of the ground, and its seemingly never-ending body was an unimaginable 50 feet long. It was a Titanoboa, an enormous python that only lives in the island's caves. James yelled, get your weapons! Kill it!" Batya was already on top of the Titanoboa, ripping into its thick hide. The Megalosaurus roared and began attacking it. Clamping its bear trap-like jaws down on the snake, which hissed and whipped itself around to face the Megalosaur. The Pachyrinosaurus was bellowing, and James began to get even angrier towards the snake, when he in avertedly looked at Patchi, he saw the same pheromones leaking out of its snout. This time, it was a pheromone that caused whatever was around it to become more aggressive, and it was working, however, a strange thing was that the Titanoboa seemed immune to the pheromone. While James' dinosaurs and they themselves were fighting harder than ever, the Titanoboa seemed to weaken. They kept hacking at the huge snake, and before long, it was dead. They all breathed heavily and looked at the giant snake. It had a huge head filled with needle-sharp fangs, and strangely a frill similar to a Dilophosaurs, though it didn't have any venom. They kept looking at it when they heard a sound. It sounded like a sharp hiss, and a pitter-patter of legs hitting the hard rock. They waited to see an Araneomorphus, or Giant Spider. They quickly evacuated, letting the huge spider feast alone on the Titanoboa. The cave passage continued on and on. They wondered what else was ahead of them.

As they kept going, Rhino said to Shadow, "Well Shadow how about taming that thing?" Shadow chuckled, "Yeah I don't think so." James looked at Shira, who looked white as a sheet. "What's wrong Shira?" asked James. She slowly looked over at James and said, "I have a really bad fear of snakes. I didn't think any snakes lived on the island, but that thing nearly scared me to death." James said, "Well it's dead now." James said nothing for a while, chuckled and said, "Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes!?"

They continued down the passage, James still didn't know why the tunnel only went straight, and with a gentle downward slope. Shadow seemed uneasy about it. "Why does this bother me?" asked Shadow. Shira looked up, "Why, what's wrong Shadow?" Shadow looked around the passage, "It almost seems as if it was burrowed by something, and something huge." James couldn't deny he had the same feelings. "But what could possibly have burrowed down a cave this size and through solid rock?" asked Shira. Shadow thought about it, "You know how sometimes the Giant Spiders burrow into the ground like trapdoor spiders? What if there was a monstrous spider far, far larger than anything we could've imagined, some Broodmother Spider." Shira said, "What makes you think anything like that exists?" Shadow said, "I don't know, this just gives me the creeps. What's stopping it?" Shira couldn't think up of a good enough excuse. On this island, everything was much larger than it should be. As they went along, suddenly Batya screeched and the spines on the back of her neck bristled. Rhino instantly dismounted and Batya rushed down the hall, attacking a huge creature none of them could see clearly. They all went down the passage and held out their torches. It was a horrifying creature that looked like a centipede, only it was over 12 feet long, and covered in armor plating. It was known in the fossil record as Arthropluera. Rhino shouted, "Get it Batya!" Batya screeched and got in front of the crawling beast. It was basically a gigantic centipede broken up into segments of thick armor made of chitin. The Arthropluera reared up like a huge insectoid cobra. Suddenly it sprayed a stream of liquid out of its mandibles. The liquid steamed on the ground and fizzled like soda shaken out of a can...actually, it was more like acid eating away at the rock. Very strong acid. James said, "Get Batya away from that thing!" Rhino whistled sharply and Batya returned. The Arthropluera then crawled away. When they got to the puddle, James put the end of his torch in it. The wood fizzed and began to seemingly melt away. It was acid. It had even formed a depression in the rock. Shadow said, "No I don't really want that thing either..."

James kept wandering down the passage when they reached the largest room in the entire cavern. A huge room so vast, an entire small village could fit inside it. However, the bizarre thing about this cave was its shape. There were no stalactites or stalagmites, and once the tunnel ended, it seemed to form a huge sphere shaped room that was absolutely gigantic. They explored the area when they came across something strange, it looked like a huge leg of a spider...and it was. James couldn't see the whole thing, but when he put the torch to the walls, a whole myriad of bioluminescent creatures illuminated the entire cave sphere with a haunting blue light. It lit up something that made the entire party yell in terror. It was what Shadow was expecting, a monstrous Broodmother Spider. It was so huge and vast, its two eyes were the height of a grown man. It looked like large spiny leaf-like appendages were all over its abdomen. It was dead. Its colossal carcass was strewn all over the cave floor. Its webs, which would've been covering the room, were all gone. This spider must've been dead for a long, long time. It's abdomen was about 40 feet long, and it had a leg span of 80 feet. It was only slightly shorter in height than an Apatosaurus. Shira, James, Rhino and Shadow all stared in awe and horror at the monster before them. It explained for one why the tunnel to the cave was so straight, narrow, and nearly perfect, and two it was just what Shadow had predicted, almost to the letter. They looked over the creature, which looked as if it belonged in the King Kong movie. James couldn't stop staring into its unblinking, lifeless compound eyes, which still could drill holes in you. James decided to take a piece of its chitin out as a souvenir. They continued in the cave until they heard a pitter-patter of legs all crawling from above them, followed by dozens of hisses and screams. It was a crawling group of Araneomorphus heading right for them. It was as if they had disturbed a sacred burial ground, and the Giant Spiders were out for revenge. They mounted their dinosaurs and rushed out of the cave. Shadow had brought his bow and arrows and so had Shira. Shira, on Patchi, would let the Pachyrinosaur go ahead, and she'd shoot while looking behind. She shot and brought down one of the huge spiders, but there were about a dozen behind them crawling faster than you'd expect. The Megalosaurus charged forward roaring. Shadow was shooting from the back of the Megalosaur, he shot and killed another spider. Then they reached the large room with the bats. As soon as the spiders entered the room, the entire swarm of Onychonycteris slammed into them. It was a horrendous swirl of giant spiders and screaming swooping, ducking giant bats. They made it out of there in a hurry.

After returning to the entrance and picking up Dippy, they escaped back to Ark Village. The entire village was unbelieving of the Broodmother story, though some did believe it, and the sketches Shadow had made of it caused some women to gasp, and little children to scream which just so happened to get a peek at it. Some of the braver men had decided to go to the cave, Shadow, James and Rhino included, though Shira stayed behind, fearing the Titanoboa. When they returned, they brought back a tamed Arthropluera. It was actually able to be ridden on, and it could spit or spray a stream of steaming acid from its mandibles on cue. They discovered that its purpose was almost entirely military, seeing it had no other benefits aside from its large supply of chitin, but they didn't want to kill it. They also discovered that the acid that it spit was actually its blood. Similar to a horned toad's defense, which squirts blood out of the corners of its eyes. However, the Arthropleura's blood was as powerful as acid, and could even render metal weapons useless if in direct contact with the acid. It was also an omnivore, and would use its acid to instantly disable its prey. However, if no prey was to be found, it wouldn't turn its nose up at plants either. Shira never really liked it, though some of the teenage boys in the tribe couldn't seem to get enough of it.

Shadow wrote his dossier for the Broodmother, but something told James he wasn't quite finished worrying about it. Shadow looked at James after putting his pen down and said, "I just can't help but wonder if there's another one out there." James didn't quite know what to say. For all he knew there could be. "And what if the Dino Raiders were to get their hands on it?" That thought really scared James. "To be fair Shadow, I highly doubt that creature could be tamed. It was so big! It would kill Apollo's men before they had a chance to tame it, and even though they proclaim themselves brave, I don't care what my chief said I wouldn't go within a thousand feet of that monstrosity." Shadow admitted that there was some truth to what he was saying, and abandoned his search, maybe he'd come back to it if he ever found a cave similar to what he found earlier.

James and Shira were in their house enjoying the evening meal when they heard a loud knock on their door, and a cheerful, "Hello? James, Shira? I have something to give you!" They let Rhino inside and he said, "Can't stay long, I just wanted Shira to have this." He handed James a small package that looked like a round jewelry box. Rhino then said goodbye and left. James looked at Shira, who looked at James. James hated things in a box, while they were in the box. In his mind, anything that's in a box must be opened! "Well, open it!" James said impatiently. She nodded, and lifted the wooden lid. She gasped and put her hand to her mouth, before grinning hugely and picking up the small brown contents. It was a small piece of chocolate. James cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "How did he know?" asked Shira. James saw a note inside that read, 'Here you go Shira. James told me you had a hankering for this stuff. Found some Cocoa beans near the cave. Enjoy! -Rhino' She smiled, and James laughed, Rhino might've looked like a big burly Marlboro man, but he had a heart of gold. She put it in her mouth and let out a long, satisfying groan of pleasure. It wasn't milk chocolate, more like a slightly strong dark chocolate, but Shira didn't care in the least. James really didn't care for chocolate, and he had a feeling that even if he did Shira probably wouldn't suggest sharing, even though she shared almost everything else. He left Shira in her ecstatic state, and went off to thank Rhino.


	27. Chapter 27: The Southeast Slough

Chapter 28

The Southeast Slough

James had wanted to go back to the swamp for quite a while. It was where they had discovered the Kaprosuchus. He hadn't however, counted on finding the deadly secret inside it. He woke up the day before refreshed and ready. Shira was humming in the kitchen preparing breakfast, which always made James feel safe and secure. He rolled out of the bed and went into the kitchen. Shira smiled, "Morning sunshine." she said cheerfully. James grinned and went over. They sat down to eat, and Shira asked, "So what are we going to do today?" James, forking a piece of dodo egg into his mouth, swallowed it, and said, "Well...I and Rhino had wanted to go to the Southeast Slough, and today is as good a day as any." She thought it over. "Alright, when can we go?" James said, "Well, the sooner the better. I have plans to meet with Rhino in about an hour. You can go if you want to." Shira said, "Oh I'd love that. Who should I take?" James said, "Your Kaprosuchus. Definitely. I'll take Morten, and Rhino will probably take his Spinosaurus as well. You should bring your Kaprosuchus so we can have a smaller mount if we need it." Shira nodded, "OK that works for me. I'll get ready."

Rhino met them in the courtyard, and they set off. Shadow had stayed behind to train the Arthropluera and also to help some other people tame some Raptors. It took about four hours of hard riding before they reached the edges of the swamp. It was foreboding and misty, as if hiding something. They entered and looked around. As they explored, the water began to form into a large river, with a boggy area on either side, or large Cyprus trees towering over the horizon. James looked into the water and saw a large dam made of sticks. It looked like a huge beaver dam. He told Shira and she came over, "Looks like a beaver dam...only bigger." As if on cue, a gigantic beaver surfaced. It looked exactly like a normal beaver, except it was far larger, and weighed about 200 pounds. James saw the monstrous beaver clamber up onto land. It shook itself sending a shower of water down on everything around it. It hauled up an entire birch tree onto the dam and looked over at the group. They stopped and wondered if it was tamable. Shadow went over towards the creature. It didn't seem to notice or care about Shadow's presence. He climbed right up onto the dam, but the beaver didn't do anything. James stared in wonder at the colossal beaver. Shira looked at James and asked, "What type of beaver is that?" James said, "It's an extinct type of giant beaver called Castoroides. They looked it over a bit more, and Shadow made some hurried sketches of it before leaving to continue their expedition. Rhino said, "I think we should split up to cover more ground. We can meet up back at this beaver dam when we're ready. I'll go with Shadow and you can go with Shira, James." James nodded. "Alright that works." They continued on, but eventually the swamp got so wet and soggy, and at places almost completely underwater, that their mounts couldn't handle it, and they had to quickly head back to Ark Village, where they got some canoes to travel through the water in. After sorting that out, they returned to their original plan. James and Shira both wondered at the towering Cyprus trees, and the quietness of the place. It was an eerie place, and though you might expect a swamp to be bursting with noise, the Southeast Slough was quiet. It gave Shira the chills, just listening to absolute nothingness. Not a sound was to be heard, as if the place was withholding something from them. They continued on, when they water began to get a bit shallower, and then they spotted a small island. They decided to push onto shore and see what they could find. When they did, they saw something large and reptilian scuttle into the brush. They waited, and then the thing emerged, or almost exploded out of the brush. It stopped, sighed and walked around the area. It looked like a large monitor lizard with a semi-circular head, but the strange thing about it was the large sail on its back, similar to a Spinosaurus' sail. It was, in fact, a Dimetrodon, which was a large Synapsid reptile similar to a sail-backed lizard. They had never seen this swamp-dweller before. It didn't seem to notice them, though it was definitely close enough to see them. It even turned to face them, but it just kept walking in a lizard-like sprawling side-step. Shira tugged James' shirt and said, "Draw it!" James made a quick sketch of it, and then continued on.

As the hours went by, a haunting mist began seeping out of the ground. It made James feel uneasy. While he really didn't mind most locations, there was something about this swamp that gave him the creeps. They kept going when they heard a noise in the distance. It sounded like another oar. Shira held up her hand and whispered, "James, did you hear that?" James nodded. He didn't want to make a sound because he had an unexplainable feeling that that oar didn't belong to Rhino and Shadow. James held on and quietly, and expertly maneuvered his boat to get into the reeds out of sight. The other boat slowly but surely headed right for them. James got out his bow and arrow. Suddenly he heard Rhino's voice boom out, "Alright you piece of vermin, we have you! Give up!" Suddenly the other boat came into view. It was a man, and on his jerkin was the insignia of the Dino Raiders! James suddenly shoved off, told Shira to get down, and pulled out his bow and arrow. The man inside the boat looked startled and frightened, and at the sight of James, he yelled and desperately pulled his canoe around. James shot, but missed since the man inside the canoe swerved around out of range at just the right moment. Suddenly the man was gone, disappeared into the mist. James strained his eyes, staring into the blank whiteness. James looked up. The mist was thick and haunting. It wasn't enough to convince him he was gone, but for all he knew he could've vaporized without a trace. He looked at his compass. It was there. The swamp was hiding something. As if on cue, the canoe came into view, and the Dino Raider inside yelled. James got out his bow and arrow and shot the man in the shoulder. He was brought down and James looked over at him. "It's over! You're down!" The Dino Raider groaned and tried to row away but James quickly caught up. James grabbed him, knocked him out and said, "Alright, let's see what's going on with Apollo. The swamp was still there, with tall trees looming over him like bent men staring down at him, waiting for him to make a mistake. James saw Rhino come into view. Rhino looked at him, "Do you have him?" James said, "Yes!" Rhino said, "Alright, let's go home."

James loomed over the man which now had a face as hard as stone, and a secret just as hard. Rhino and Shadow were both in the room, and the Dino Raider was chained to the table. The interrogation could now begin. Shadow knew who this man was, though James didn't quite remember, though he did recognize him. Shadow said, "Alright Axelon, why are you here?" James now understood. Axelon was the same Dino Raider that had almost killed Shadow in the early days of the village. Axelon grinned, but not out of cooperation. Rhino stood over Axelon and slammed his huge fists down on the table. "Alright you lowlife. I've dealt with your kind before. I can do it again. If you want me to hurt you I will...gladly. Now, I want you to talk, or I'll force the words out of you with such pain, you won't be able to speak another sentence for the next three months!" James could've said the exact same words himself, but it wouldn't have sounded half as intimidating, and persuasive as how Rhino said it. James looked at Rhino, then at Axelon, who actually looked away from Rhino. James knew this was a good sign. Looking away was a sign that he was breaking down, and becoming more submissive. Rhino kept going, he slammed his fists on the table even harder, got uncomfortably close to Axelon's face, and roared, "Well?!" Axelon was sweating. Another good sign. He began to talk. "I am second in command for the Dino Raiders now that Hijikata is dead. How did he die anyway? Rhino said, "It doesn't matter. We're the ones asking the questions. Not you." Axelon continued, "Fine. Well, Apollo had banned Hijikata after James humiliated him. So Hijikata was bent on redeeming himself. He became very reclusive and aggressive, hardly ate and didn't get any sleep. He said that he was set on revenge...Like me. When I get out of this, I can assure you I will make this Hell on earth for you." Rhino grabbed Axelon's face. "I can assure you, that if you continue threatening us I will return the favor. Shut up and continue your story!" Axelon glared at Rhino angrily and said, "You think you're so intimidating. You are not. Apollo is craftier than you think. Why do you think he's been hiding out like he has? Why do you think I was in the swamp? There is a secret base there. You can torture me all you like, but I won't give up its exact location. I was making a quick courier run between our...groups if you will." James said, "There are two Dino Raider groups?" Axelon replied, "Yes. And they're larger than you might think. Apollo is gathering resources and strength. Give him time, and he will launch an attack on this village so huge, you will beg for death before Apollo lays a finger on these walls. Rhino said, "We may have underestimated you, but don't you even think about underestimating us. Let him come. We have defeated him once. We can do it again, and again, and again until the last drop of our blood is spent. We will never raise the white flag here. Axelon laughed, "That's what they all say. Every petty little tribe." Axelon said in a mocking tone, "Oh no you bad, bad Dino Raiders, we'll kill you all." Axelon stared and shook his head. "Oh. Who do you people think you are? What makes you so different?" James said, "Because God is on our side." Axelon huffed, "You may lean on imaginary crutches if you like, but the Dino Raiders prefer killing all who dare to oppose us. If your little God opposes us, we will crush him in our fists and grind him to dust, as we did to anybody else in our way." James got up to Axelon and said, "You may think you can. But the only reason you or I is alive today is because of his mercy. He holds all the world in his palm, and he holds you in his hand as well. Don't think you are bigger than him. Pride goes before a fall." "So does stupidity!" said Axelon. The Dino Raider spit at James. Rhino landed a punch at Axelon's face. Axelon yelled and rubbed his hand on his cheek while staring with burning hatred at Rhino's face. Rhino was collected, but his face was still cold enough to freeze even James, who hadn't seen that face since their showdown with Hijikata. James kept looking at Axelon. He hadn't given them anything else aside from his job position, and some possibly empty threats about Apollo, though James didn't discount them. For all he knew, Apollo may well have been mustering and amassing during his suspicious absence. Rhino said threateningly, "Alright Axelon, you've given us no information. I want to know these three simple things: One, where is Apollo now? Two, Why were you in the Southeast Slough? Three, Is Apollo gathering any sort of army or force to himself? Axelon said, "What makes you think I'll tell you, you-" He cursed Rhino in every imaginable way. When he finished, Rhino waited and said, "I don't ever want you to call me, my family, or my mother those things ever again. What makes you think you'll tell me? He punched Axelon in the face, and then went behind him, grabbing the collar of his shirt, and slamming his face down on the table three terrifying times. By the end of the "coaxing" session, Axelon, with blood dripping down his nose and face, said, "Alright I'll talk." "I figured." said Rhino. Rhino sat back down. Axelon said, "Apollo roams where he wants. He's sometimes at the Slough, other times he's back in the cave he dragged your little screaming harpy of a wife James and-" James lurched out of his chair with clenched fists. "I'll have you know that my wife is not to be insulted by a foul mouthed murderer like you." He said, "Remember where you are Axelon. We have the power to kill you or set you free. Even though the latter option seems undeserving for you." He sat back down. Axelon glared and continued, "I was in the swamp for the courier mission like I said. Your third question I can't answer. Apollo may or may not be gathering strength. Rhino got up. "Do I have to get you to open up again? My patience with you is running out." Axelon didn't say anything. Rhino got up behind him, slowly grabbed his collar, but Axelon said, "Alright! Alright! You don't have to break my jaw! Might not be able to give you your information then." Rhino didn't let go of his collar, just asked firmly, "Is he gathering strength or not?" Axelon's eyes were darting back and forth in his head. "Yes. Slowly. Don't even think about attacking it. He has dozens of spaced out groups all over the island. It was calculated. He doesn't have near enough people to launch the kind of assault we want, but it may not take long. There aren't enough people yet, and there are a few creatures we need that we don't have. I wouldn't start building barricades yet, but you may need to soon."

They threw Axelon in the prison. Since the tribe had gotten bigger, there were a few troublemakers in the tribe. They were few and far between, but they unfortunately did exist. Axelon was guarded. James and Rhino were alone outside the prison. "So what are we going to do with him?" asked Rhino. James wasn't quite sure himself. "I don't know. As far as I'm concerned he's a prisoner now. We know that Apollo is gathering strength, and we know that some of it is based in the Southeast Slough. I say we get a good number of men and scout it out. Destroy any Dino Raider base that we might find there. Maybe even take Apollo prisoner." Rhino said, "Good idea, though I don't want to take Apollo prisoner. I think the death sentence suits him far better. Murderous traitor! It makes sense that he needs to compile more resources though. When we raided his base we basically destroyed everything. We killed almost all of their dinosaurs and killed many of their men as well." James wasn't sure exactly what to do yet. Holding court wouldn't accomplish anything. The interrogation had worked, and they knew Apollo was doing something big and dangerous while their backs were turned. Setting him free would be a really stupid idea, and it seemed like the only thing left to do was kill him. They ended up agreeing to hold him as a bargaining chip. If Apollo ever held any notions of taking anybody prisoner, Axelon could be held as a bargaining chip. But Apollo didn't show any mercy to Hijikata, maybe he didn't care one way or another if Axelon lived or died, he simply needed a body to hold his position. If that was true, they would need to hold a dangerous Dino Raider in their village who could possibly even be able to smuggle notes out for all they knew. No. Things must be dealt with quickly.

Axelon was looking at the two guards in front of him. He got out a small bottle and said, "Alright I know you're just doing your job, but can I please go out for some air!" The guards said nothing. Axelon said, "When is my next moldy crust getting here?" The guard said, "In a few minutes." A few minutes passed and his meal came. The guard opened the door and Axelon got up. Then in a flash he grabbed the one guard and sprayed a blinding tear inducing spray in his eyes. The guard screamed in pain, but the other guard got out his weapon and told Axelon to stand down. Axelon grabbed a knife out of his sleeve and threw it at the guard. It landed in the guard's shoulder, who yelled and collapsed on the ground. Axelon had escaped.

When James had learned of Axelon's escape, he looked into the prison. He couldn't blame the guards for his escape, as the one still couldn't see, with horribly bloodshot eyes and tears welling up uncontrollably in his eyes and dripping down his face. He held a cloth up to them and groaned in pain. The other one was being doctored up for the nasty gash on his shoulder the knife made when Axelon threw it. James was outraged. Hadn't they checked Axelon's person to avoid this scenario? Apparently they hadn't checked him well enough. Shadow was enraged by the sight before him, and Rhino was sent out with several other burlier men to try and track him down, but they couldn't find him. He had covered his tracks far too well. Axelon obviously had some skills that they were unaware of. He was possibly even more dangerous than Hijikata. it almost seemed as if Hijikata was a newbie, and that he was trying desperately to gain Apollo's favor. Axelon might have been more of Apollo's favorite, but it didn't matter. Axelon was in Hijikata's place, and Hijikata was dead. It was time to take action. If Apollo was in the Southeast Slough, that's where Axelon would go for sure. It was far to dangerous to let him go, since he had been to the village, and would probably tell Apollo and the other Dino Raiders about Ark Village. It was something James didn't want to happen in the least. They decided to organize a man-hunt into the Southeast Slough. Rhino, James, Shadow and any man willing to participate was to get on their mount or boat, enter the Slough, and track down Axelon or Apollo. Any Dino Raider was fair game.

They had assembled quite the intimidating posse in the Ark Village court. Men were all either carrying canoes, or riding swamp-able mounts. Some were taking their Spinosaurs, and small wonder. Others were riding Pteranodon or Argentavis, and still others were taking Sarcosuchus. It was a deadly looking gathering, and one that Axelon or Apollo would definitely think twice about engaging. Besides, Axelon said that their forces were broken up into small groups peppered about the island. So if they had a large enough force with enough animals, the Ark Villagers could possibly be able to crush the head of the snake, Apollo...That is, if they found him. They were assuming that he was quartered in a cave of some sort, but where in the swamp, and what cave they weren't entirely sure. It may not be a cave maybe an island. Wherever he was, they were ready for him, and any Dino Raiders in their way were going to regret it!

They all slowly entered the swamp. It was quiet and misty. They had trained their dinosaurs to follow Apollo's scent, and if he was anywhere close, their Spinosaurs, which had extremely acute noses, would let them know. If they got close enough, Apollo would be finished. There was no sign. All of the Ark Villagers melted into the swamp stealthily and they each scanned the horizon, with their dinosaurs all smelling and growling quietly to themselves. It was a haunting experience for James, who didn't know if at any second a Dino Raider's arrow would be sent into his neck. However, James reasoned, the fog and mist was so thick that nobody would be able to shoot through it. They waited. Nothing. Then James heard a slight rustle in the bushes and human footsteps running away. One of the Spinosaurs heard it, and crashed through the soggy mud towards the steps. It roared and James heard a shout. Then after a bit the Spinosaurus came back. A Dino Raider in his claws. It was Axelon! James dismounted his Sarcosuchus and walked over to Axelon. He grabbed out a knife and put it to Axelon's throat. "Apollo? Where is he?" Axelon didn't answer. James pressed the knife's sharp, cold metal into his throat a little harder. "Keep going north!" said Axelon. James stared him right in the eye and said, "If you're deceiving us, your life is in our hands. Somebody take him prisoner!" One of the two men in a canoe took him aboard, tied him up and knocked him out. James went north, and so did everybody else. They went on for a while until arrows started whistling past their ears. James sent some of the Sarcosuchus to find the snipers. Sarcosuchus' eyes aren't impaired by fog, he heard several Sarcosuchus burst out of the water and men yelling. He hoped that this commotion wouldn't scare off Apollo or any of the other Dino Raiders. More explosions, then the crocs met back up with the group and the arrows ceased. Suddenly they saw a torch glowing in the fog. A voice boomed out. "What brings you here Ark Village?" James knew whose voice it was. "What brings you here Apollo? Why are you scheming against us? Leave us alone and we will leave you alone!" He couldn't see Apollo's face, only the faint glow of a torch he held in his hand. "I will never leave you alone! I will have my revenge!" James motioned for the men to stay. He went forward. When he got close enough to see Apollo, he was alone, or at least it seemed like he was. James got up on the island he was at. Apollo coolly looked at James and said, "Know this: you may have the upper hand now, but I will kill you. Every single one of your dirty little Ark Villagers. I will also make sure to kill your sniveling wife in front of your very eyes. Oh James how I have lusted for that moment." James shook his head. "No. You talk big. No. I will be the one to defeat you. And also, I will say to you: you may think that you'll defeat us, but by the strength of the Lord we will prevail." Apollo rolled his eyes, "How long are you going to lean on an imaginary crutch?" James replied, "Until I die." Apollo huffed, "When you die, I will be there, and I will be the one doing it." James huffed himself and stared into Apollo's eyes, "No, that will unfortunately be my pleasure. Now are we going to stare lovingly into each other's eyes or are we going to end this?" Apollo said, "We are going to end this...but not now." With that, he raised his arm and shouted. Six Smilodon tore out from beside him. James shouted and a Spinosaurus tore out from beside him. The Spinosaurus battled the two agile cats, and James launched himself into his canoe. James pointed forward and the entire posse began rushing forward. There were about 30 Dino Raiders with weapons. Rhino threw something in the air, and it exploded. He had brought back grenades! Several Dino Raiders flew into the air and thudded back onto the ground. Then they all panicked at the sight of the Spinosaurs. Some more grenades were thrown. More Dino Raiders flew into the air and then a few picked themselves up and ran away back into the thick core of the swamp. James told the others to split up and pick off any Dino Raiders they could find. They each melted into the woods. A nightmare ensued, where the dark, foggy swamp became even darker, and every so often, a distant roar or yell could be heard. He kept going when he passed by a huge tree. Suddenly a knife slammed right into the trunk in front of him. He grabbed the blade which had a message attached to it. He opened up the paper. It read, 'Call off your men or your wife is dead.' James knew Apollo was serious. He called off the men.

It really didn't matter that he had called them off. Most of the Dino Raiders had been dispatched, and James returned to Ark Village. Axelon had gone missing during the fray, but he was definitely unconscious when he went missing, so it was anybody's guess if he was dead or alive. They hadn't lost anybody, as this group of Dino Raiders had been extremely poorly disciplined. This might've been why Apollo wasn't choosing to fight now. It must've been because his men were very poorly disciplined, and they wouldn't fight correctly. However, they couldn't exploit this weakness, since Apollo had purposefully spread out all of his men in different areas. If he had all of his men in one central spot, James would've sent out a massive frontal assault and crushed the Dino Raiders once and for all! However, Apollo had obviously seen his weakness, and he took care of it. James smacked his fist in his other hand, frustrated. He was so tantalizingly close to neutralizing Apollo, but he had threatened Shira. James knew that Apollo wouldn't disappoint, and revenge could step aside. As long as Apollo was alive though, Shira and the entire village was under threat anyway. Rhino went up to James. It seemed like Rhino was upset about something. James went up to him, "What's wrong Rhino?" Rhino looked up at James and said, "We failed our mission James. Apollo is still out there! Why did you call us off?!" James said, "Apollo made it very clear that if I didn't call off the men then he would kill Shira." Rhino's face calmed a bit and he nodded, "Alright. I understand. He would do it too!" James said, "Which is why I called off the men." We know he's in there, and we killed our fair share of Dino Raiders." Rhino nodded, "Alright, alright, I don't need a therapy session." He laughed and slapped James on the back. James said, "Let's celebrate!"

In the swamp, Apollo looked at Axelon. "I'll have you know Axelon that I fired Hijikata because he failed me. Don't think I won't do the same to you." Axelon's bruised face donned a disgusted look. "How did I fail you? I escaped!" Apollo said, "You drew too much attention to yourself, and you dared to tell them where I was! They probably know our entire plan thanks to you!" Axelon said, "Then see if you could do a better job!" Apollo landed a devastating punch to Axelon's face. Axelon reeled back. "If you want me to find a new person to fill your job, then it can be arranged. Don't think for a second I care one bit about you. Axelon grabbed a knife out of his belt sheath. I don't care for you. If you think I'm going to stand by and take your abuse you cur, you have the wrong idea!" With that, he tried to throw the knife at Apollo, but Apollo whipped out his own knife and dodged. Then Apollo thrust himself forward with the knife and finished the horrid deed. He didn't bury him, just left his body there. Apollo spat on Axelon's body, and walked off. "When my men are ready, Ark Village will die!" With that he picked up a horn and blew it. About 20 men emerged from the fog. Each man looked timid and frightened, even though some looked like very large, intimidating men. Apollo lifted up his obsidian spear from the ground and said, "You all failed me. You ran off at the mere sight of the Ark Tribesman scum! Look at what happens to those who fail me!" He swung his spear to the ground, pointing at the bloody carcass of Axelon. "They die! I will train you into highly dangerous, highly efficient warriors who follow orders instead of running from a fight! We will spill blood! If you're afraid to do it, or don't want to do it, then I will beat you out of this tribe. War will be your sole obsession from this day on!"

James looked back at Shira. She looked back at him. "So Apollo saw you and threatened me?" James nodded. "You didn't have to call off the search." "No Shira I did. Apollo definitely would've come for you, and if not him then some other Dino Raider thug. I don't care if I have Apollo in my arrow sights, if he threatens you, and I know he will do what he says, I wouldn't kill him. You're worth too much to me." Shira smiled, "Thank you. I appreciate that." James nodded, "One day I will have my fight with Apollo, and it will be his last fight if it's the last thing I do. It certainly will be his." Shira stopped smiling. She didn't like it when James talked like that. She told him as much. "James, I know that Apollo has done some things to anger you, but I don't want you to become obsessed with revenge, even if you feel he deserves death, I don't want that to be all you think about. I've seen people become torn down by hatred. It's something I never want to see happen to you." James looked down. His wife was speaking truth if she ever was. "You're talking about your brother aren't you?" asked James. Shira nodded, "Please don't let me see that happen to you." she begged. James heart softened. He didn't want her to see it happen to him. He resolved to be concerned more with justice than revenge now. James nodded and they embraced, with one feeling comfort, and the other feeling blessed that she was here after Apollo's threat.

There was cheering and joyful laughter inside of the Ark Village court. Under the bright stars was a happy Ark Village, all celebrating their victory over the Dino Raiders. They all ate and drank, and then James stepped up on the pedestal in the center of the court. He shouted, "Men and women! Ark Villagers!" They all fell silent and looked at James, "We have won a victory over the Dino Raiders. It will not be our last fight, indeed, Apollo will muster new forces, but when he comes we will be ready!" Cheers erupted forth from the crowd. "When he comes we will end his reign of terror, and reestablish Ark Village!" More cheers. "So what say you? Will we fall back and cower when Apollo returns?" Disgusted shouts and jeers went out, "Or will we set ourselves on defeating him?" A monstrous and determined shout burst forth. Accompanied by roars of nearby dinosaurs creating a spectacle that would've sounded like a battle to anybody nearby.

That night, James saw Shira near the shores of the ocean. It was windy, and there was a full moon illuminating the ocean and sandy beach. Her black hair was flowing like air itself. James walked up and Shira turned her head. James said, "Watching the waves?" She nodded. "The moon is brighter than normal tonight." she said. James smiled and put his arm around her. Shira smiled and looked up at James, who was staring out at the inky blue ocean, black as pitch in some places, but a deep blue where the moon shined on it. The sand on the shore took on an other-worldly deep blue color, with the black outline of the jungle in the back. There were no stars, all drowned out by the white brilliance of the moon, full and bright, almost turning the jungle into near-daytime. It caused the two of them to simply sit and watch the beautiful sight unfold before them. He put his arm around her, and she leaned on him. James forgot the Dino Raiders for that blissful moment, and stared into the night. Shira and James continued watching, and then they made their way back to the house. James said to his wife, "That view was my reward tonight. And seeing it with you made it all the sweeter." Shira smiled and looked at James, "I agree. I'm planning on cooking something very special tonight." James chuckled, "Thank you, but really Shira why complain about not being able to eat at a restaurant when your food is so much better, and you get to enjoy it so much more?" Shira laughed, "It's my way of making up for not being able to enjoy restaurants anymore, and I love to cook anyway." James shook his head, and they opened the door. When they did, something horrible met their eyes. With his feet propped up on their table, and staring into their eyes, Apollo grinned and said, "Welcome home James, I've been wanting to talk to you."


	28. Chapter 28: Hollow Ice

Chapter 29

Hollow Ice

James stared into Apollo's face. Apollo looked at James and said, "I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here." James said with a quiet rage in his voice, "Yes I am, especially why you dare to show yourself in my own house." Apollo chuckled darkly and looked at Shira. "Whatever did you see in him you harpy?" James was appalled and enraged by Apollo's remark, and he stepped threateningly towards him. Apollo held up his hand. "Don't act as if you'd even try to hurt me." Apollo said, "You're all a bunch of cowards dressed up as warriors. It's sickening." James stepped towards Apollo again and said, "Alright if all you're going to do is sit here and insult me and my wife, I'm going to imprison you. Why are you here?" Apollo chuckled and said, "You're not going to imprison me at all you fool." "What's stopping me?" asked James. Apollo said, "This." as he held up a grenade. "You'd blow up with me!" said James. "Well at least you'd be dead." replied Apollo. "And don't even think I won't hesitate to pull the cord. Besides, this wouldn't be meant for you." James knew who Apollo was talking about, and so did Shira, who was behind James. James looked at Shira and said, "Stay behind me." She nodded and Apollo said, "Sit down James." James nodded and pulled up his chair. "Why are you here?" asked James. Apollo replied, "I'd like you to know a few things. First, I want you to know that attempting to destroy any groups I have around the island will end in failure. I made sure I made them a bit scarcer for you. Trying to find them will simply end up in more bloodshed for you. There are too many, and there are only a few in a group." James said, "And if I do try it?" "Then don't expect your wife or your friends or you to be alive for much longer." James said, "Your threats mean nothing." Apollo nodded, and then lunged forward and pressed a knife up to James' throat, who had no time to react. Shira let out a scream, "Shut up swine!" shouted Apollo. Apollo got close up to James face and said in a vicious tone of voice, "My threats should mean quite a lot to you. I've killed men before. I can do it again, and again, and again. I warn you. If you don't watch your back I will stab it slowly and painfully." Shira grabbed a knife out of her belt. Apollo said, "Don't even think about it." Apollo then eased back and walked over, picking up his cloak. As he opened the door out he said, "Don't think about attacking me if you value your lives. Or if you value your wives or children. James stared at Apollo with a burning, raging desire to attack this man who dared to show himself in his own house. "You're a monster!" shouted Shira. Apollo chuckled and said, "I'm in the position to call names here. Not you." He took a step out the door, looked at James and said, "I'll see you around James, oh, and don't start some ridiculous man-hunt for me. If you do I'll just have to release my best weapon on you." James said, "Whatever you say. How I will enjoy finally defeating you!" Apollo didn't reply, just went out laughing.

Shira collapsed into James' arms. "What was he doing here?" she asked on the verge of tears. "I was so scared he was going to..." James calmed her down a little, and then decided to tell Rhino and Shadow about the incident. Shira refused to leave his side, and James didn't want to let her out of his sight, so they went off to the village court together. They met up with Rhino and Shadow in the court. After explaining the situation Rhino rubbed his eyes and said, "So we're just supposed to let him go and train that Dino Raider scum while we sit here and twiddle our thumbs?" James said, "Rhino do we have any other choice?" Rhino said, "He threatened you, and your wife, I can't say that there is any other choice but to attack!" James said, "Rhino here are our options: we go after one of those small untrained groups, and say we kill all of them. Apollo will hear about it and then send some thugs here to murder our wives and children. He's going to attack our village anyway, there will be a great battle, but why do it right now? I'd rather Apollo be here when our men are trained than to have a bunch of assassins come and kill everyone here." Rhino and Shadow nodded, "I agree with James," said Shadow. Rhino said, "Oh, alright I do to but I don't like it. I don't like any of this." James said, "I know, very much. I want to end this more than anyone else."

After returning home, James and Shira talked about the incident. They began formulating defense strategies. After a while, they decided to find Pink Guy, and ask him about what he saw while he was imprisoned, and about how he was imprisoned. They decided to go the next day, it was black as pitch out now. "What makes you think that Pink Guy will have any answers?" asked Shira. James replied, "He got up close and personal to the Dino Raiders there. He may have some answers we need. Maybe there's some sort of weakness we can exploit." Shira agreed, and the next morning they mounted their Argentavis and set out. They flapped around for several hours flying into the far north of the island where it was cold and snowbound. Soon they reached a beautiful area that was a wooded mountain range. The mountains weren't very high, and were more like rocky hills with tall pine trees. There was a large raging creek flowing hard and violently with rapids pounding the rocks around it. Shira yelled over on her Argentavis, "It shouldn't be long now! Let's speed up a bit!" They flew along, and soon they reached the polar regions of the island. They continued on until they saw the "pengalan" sanctuary come into view. as they circled down, they noticed something strange. All of the Kairuku in the sanctuary were gone. James suddenly panicked, had Pink Guy not made it home? What had happened? James didn't know. "What happened? Where is he?" asked Shira. They decided to run to the house and see if he was there. The door was locked and James looked frantically for something to break down the door. He couldn't find anything and used his shoulders to slam into the door. After a few tries he succeeded and broke down the door. "Pink Guy!" he yelled, "Where are you?" Suddenly they broke in and saw Pink Guy sitting on the floor of the big room, surrounded by at least 15 other Kairuku all staring at James. Pink Guy looked confused and said, "What's all this'n ruckus I hear?"

It turned out that Pink Guy was celebrating Capt. Scarlett's birthday. All of the other "pengalans" had been invited, but only 15 had showed up. "Where are the rest of the penguins?" asked James. "Feeding out at sea somehwheres. They usually go out fishin' for their meals about this time more er less'n." James nodded. "Sorry to disturb you like that...I feel pretty stupid." Pink Guy responded, "Ah heck it was fine. At least you'll be here fer Capt. Scarlett's birthday." James asked, "How old is she?" Pink Guy shrugged. 'Oh well,' thought James. James then decided to ask the question, it really wouldn't make much of a difference when he asked anyway. "So Pink Guy," he asked. Pink Guy looked up and said, "Yeah?" "What happened the day you were kidnapped?" Pink Guy said, "You mean by those cusses that got me just a few days ago?" James nodded. "There were the Dino Raiders right?" James nodded. "Oh they wanted me to give away information about you'ns. I didn't and they got a bit hot under the collar." "What did they want to know?" asked James. "Well I said you'ns had been here and they wanted to know all kinda stuffs I didn't even remember. All I said to 'em was that I'd had some visitors from...Bark village I think you said?" James chuckled. "Ark Village, but what happened then." Pink Guy said, "I knew where they was from. They was from the Dino Raiders. I done some tradin' with 'em and they left me alone mostly." James continued asking a few questions. "You knew they were the Dino Raiders? What else do you know about them?" Pink Guy sighed, tapped his finger on the new table he had built, and looked at the ground before responding, "I know a bit more'n you'ns would think I expect. Well there's a man livin' in a cave near here. He was Apollo's brother I think. Not sure but I seen him a couple times. Not too friendly 'round other folks but he never paid me much mind. You could go 'head and try to meet 'im if you want to. Tell him I sent you'ns." Shira said, "Where exactly is this ice cave?" Pink Guy gave them the directions, and then James and Shira prepared to leave." James, at the door, looked back at Pink Guy and said, "Thank you. You've been a big help." Pink Guy nodded and said, "You're welcome. Remember to stop any time you'ns is up here."

On the backs of their Pteranodons James saw Shira soar up from below, and then come up beside him. Squinting with the wind in her eyes, and her black hair flowing wildly behind her head, she shouted, "When we get to the cave what are you going to do?" James shouted back, "Talk to this man! I don't really know what I'm going to do!" She nodded and kept looking ahead. As they continued, it began to grow dark. Below them was all just ice and snow. James was surprised that the Pteranodon were able to keep going, but it was probably their downy undercoat keeping them warm. Soon, the ice began to slowly turn to forest, and they began to look for the cave. After a while, carefully following Pink Guy's directions, they made it to the ice cave. James slid off his saddle and took a look inside the imposing cave. It looked as if it had been chiseled out of a frozen hillside, and most of it was made of rock, though a part of it was made out of solid ice untold feet thick. Shira flew down and as her Pteranodon settled she looked at it with wide eyes. She dismounted very slowly and walked up cautiously to James. She said, "James are you sure?" James shook his head, "No I'm not...but we have to try. We need as much information about Apollo as we can get." She nodded. James took one step, and suddenly overcome by fear Shira gripped at his coat. "James please don't!" James turned around, and saw in his wife's face fear colder than the ice they were standing on. James looked Shira in the eye, and said, "Shira, we need to do this. I love you, and I will be with you the entire time." They embraced and Shira said after a while, "Well I guess you can start giving me my favorite bravery Bible verses." James chuckled and put his hands on Shira's shoulders. "I can't do this without you." James said. She smiled and nodded, before they advanced towards the frozen cave.

The inside of the cave was far more terrifying than the outside. The wind made the powdery snow at the bottom of the cave floor creep like wisps of steam, crawling and tangling around James' legs like cold skeletal hands. Shira had a fear of caves, but she could go into a normal one without much problems as long as she had ample time to prepare herself. This particular cave was a manifestation of her worst nightmare. She was terrified the entire time, and little wonder. Every so often, a draft would blow in from the mouth of the cave, resonating off of the walls like the breath of a ghoul. A lot of the walls were covered in ice, and in some places, there was no rock, just a solid wall of pack ice. They continued creeping down the cave, but this cave didn't get dark for very long. Inside of the cave were gigantic glowing blue crystals. There were enormous icicles hanging from the top of the cave. Apollo's brother? James still couldn't wrap his head around that statement, but nobody could know more about Ark Village's sworn enemy than he. Soon, they came to an area with even more torches than normal. There were at least five on one wall, and a few more on the other, though a rock obstructed his view. Suddenly they heard a shuffling of feet. "Hello?!" said a frantic sounding voice. James decided to speak up, and he told Shira to get behind him. "Are you Apollo's brother?" he asked. "Yes! And if you've come to take me back-" "No!" shouted James. "Pink Guy sent us!" A long pause ensued. It lasted a mere twenty seconds, but it felt like an eternity to James. Then James saw his shadow creeping into view. "We have come to ask you a few things. We are friends. You can trust us," said James in a calming tone of voice. After a while the man slowly came into view. He crept around the corner and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry," he said, "I've just been living so long dreading my brother finding me." James went up. "It's alright," he said, "We've come here to help, or rather we need you to help us." The man came slowly out from behind the rock and said, "Are you sure you aren't followers of my brother? From those horrible...Dino Raiders or whatever he calls them." James said, "On the contrary, I have a feeling we will soon be at war with the Dino Raiders." The man looked down and gritted his teeth shaking his head. "Oh Apollo how I hate you!" he murmured just loud enough for James and Shira to hear. Shira looked at James. James nodded, knowing. If there was one thing Shira hated more than the place she was in now, it was people hating other people, and after the terrible tragedy with her brother, she had a hatred for hatred. She didn't say anything, she merely looked down herself. James decided to continue, "We need some information from you. I swear I will not use it against you, and I certainly swear to never tell Apollo where you are." The man nodded, and beckoned him towards the main room of the cave. His physical features were hardened, but he looked slightly younger than Apollo. He was thinner than his brother, and yet he had a worried and aged look about him. His teeth looked like they had been forgotten for quite some time. He was wearing thick furs that also looked like they had been forgotten for some time as well. His hair was wispy and thin, and was gone for the most part in many places. Though his voice was from a thirty year old, his appearance was that of a man twice his age. He sat down on a large, flat rock, and motioned for James and Shira to sit down on two other near him. When they did, the man said, "Well, what would you like to know?" James said, "First, your name." The man sighed and said, "Draax." James nodded. "Very well. My next question is, what happened? Why did Apollo want to form a warring tribe?" Draax looked down, and replied after a bit, "Now that is a question. And a long story." James said, "I need to know." Draax said, "Of course you do. Well, here's what happened. Apollo was very rambunctious as a child. He was never a bad one, just the kind of boy who would play the prank or flail the stick around. We were part of the Rockart Tribe, and our great-great-grandfather had been one of the passengers on the steamboat from Britain, wherever that is. Anyway, he had always been neglected by my parents. I had always been their favorite. I hated it, seeing my brother being constantly put-down and belittled while they exalted me above him. I don't know why I disliked it so much but I did. Every time they'd praise me I'd feel so uncomfortable. As the years went on, my parents abuse towards my brother became harsher and harsher. He began to become bitter towards both me and our parents. It became worse and worse. I tried to talk to him about it, but I knew that seeds of bitterness were in his heart. The years dragged on and nothing got better. Then one horrible night, after Apollo had a really awful fight with our parents, he came to me. He asked me to run off with him and be part of his new Dino Raider tribe." James didn't understand. "But why would he want you to join his tribe if he hated you so much?" Draax shook his head, "That part still puzzles me. But I told him no, that he couldn't break off and become a warring tribe. He told me that I had betrayed him completely, and that if he'd ever see me again he'd kill me. To this day I have never seen him. After that meeting, I hurried off to meet my father and tell him...but..." James thought he guessed what Apollo had done. "Did he murder your parents?" he asked with a cold tone of voice. Draax nodded, "I see their breathless faces every night. I knew every day that he was going to. It was just a horrid fear that I knew would come to pass. But, never mind. I lived in the Rockart tribe for several more years, until Apollo had developed a larger following among our village. There were several men who had been banished from the village on grounds of theft, murder and the like. It was found out later that they were members of the Dino Raiders tribe. As time went on more and more joined. One of the worst was a man named Hijikata." James didn't bring him up, since he was now dead, and no longer a threat. "Soon the Rockart tribe had been reduced quite badly. Apollo raided our village several times and he always kept leaving notes for me. Death threats. He was playing with me, but every time he'd raid I would fear that he would kill me at a moment's notice. Soon, I left the village for fear of Apollo. Every time I felt the heat of the Dino Raiders I migrated further north, until I ended up here. I met Pink Guy when I first came up. He gave me furs and supplies and let me know about this cave. Here I am. That is the story." James nodded and said, "Well it makes more sense now. I do have another question: when I went to the Dino Raider's camp he told me that, just as his parents named him after the Greek god, so he would be like him in battle. Was there anything special about his name?" Draax nodded, "They named him that because, as their firstborn, they expected him to fulfill all of their expectations. He didn't, and I won't go through what they wanted, but I suppose I fulfilled their expectations more fully. I...don't know." James said, "Did he ever visit certain houses to threaten the people there?" asked James, "Why do you ask?" said Draax. "Because he entered my house a few days ago, and threatened me and my wife here." Draax was wide-eyed, and he looked furious. "He did what?!" he asked, looking especially angry with his brother. "Why did he do that?!" James said, "I'm still confused about it, maybe he just wanted to scare us, but I wondered if he had ever done that before." Draax looked up at the cave ceiling, as if trying to recollect. Soon he shook his head and replied, "No. If he ever attacked anybody he'd keep to the shadows unless he chose not to, but to enter a house and simply threaten and leave, alone...no. I can't remember him being so stupid! He's a coward. He tries to dress up as a brave man but he is a bloodthirsty coward. If his life is in danger he will throw others to the wolves." James remembered how he had shown his cowardice in their raid of the Dino Raider base. Apollo had hidden inside a room under a table when he had found out he had lost. While the battle was going on, he wasn't even there to fight, simply directing the fight from afar. When he finally showed himself to James, James had defeated him, but he still relied on others to fight, when he let out an Alpha Raptor instead of surrendering. James had thought he was dead when the grenade exploded near his head, but he wasn't. Draax continued, "The fact that he threatened your wife, and entered your house just to throw his weight around makes me sick. It's just the sort of low-down thing I'd expect from him." James did have another question, "Draax, would you come back to Ark Village with us? You'd be safe from Apollo, and we could use your help." Draax looked down, thinking. "I don't know. I do have combat experience, I was a weapon-smith, and I trained some of the Rockart tribe for combat or hunting skills." James said, "You don't have to answer now if you don't want. We can come back tomorrow if you'd like." Draax said, "Thank you. I will think about it. I'll definitely think about it you can be sure." With that, James left with Shira, they mounted their Pteranodon, and steered by moonlight to the slightly warmer part of the forest.

James spread out a blanket on the forest floor. He had set out torches and created a large campfire to ward off the creatures out there. There were huge trees on the hillside they were at. There were very few shrubs and the trees were spaced far apart. Shira was laying down on her blanket, and James laid down on his. After a few hours he woke up. The moon was further up than last he had seen. He slowly crawled out of the blanket trying not to disturb his sleeping wife. He didn't hear anything, except for the howl of a Dire Wolf in the far distance. He didn't flinch, they were much too far away to find him. As he looked off into the cold distance, he looked down into the valley. The stars were hidden under a thick cloudy veil. He would've given anything to see them out now, when he really needed them. He sighed and bowed his head, praying quietly to himself. He felt bewildered, like he was staring headlong into a cavern he had to enter, a cliff he'd have to jump off, an ocean he'd have to cross. He knew that a battle with the Dino Raiders was imminent, and he hated the thought. Why couldn't there just be peace? What was he supposed to do? He rubbed his eyes and sighed. He was so concentrated on his prayers, he didn't hear his wife stirring in the background. Shira looked at James whose silhouette was illuminated in the moonlight. She slowly got out her blanket and crawled over to James on the rock. "What's the matter?" she asked. James looked beside him, seeing Shira's concerned face. "Just thinking." he responded. Shira said, "You're thinking about Apollo aren't you?" James replied, "Yes I am. His story puts some pieces together that's for sure." Shira nodded, "All because of hatred towards his parents." James held Shira close, "I know you fear that so much." Shira didn't nod or respond, but James knew she was thinking of her brother. "We have a tough time ahead of us." Shira nodded, "I hope Draax agrees to come with us back to Ark Village." she said. "I know," James said, "He would make a great addition to the fight." After a long silence Shira put her face in her hands. James, concerned, looked into her face and asked, "Shira? What's wrong?" She was sobbing weakly with a tear dripping down her cheek. "I just hate this! I miss the care-free times we used to spend together before all of this happened!" James put his arms around her, stroking her head and reassuring her. "It's alright," he said in a soothing tone of voice, "It will all be over soon."

The next day they went over to the ice cave to meet up with Draax. Shira was rolling up the blankets while James stamped out the fire. She and James looked at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking. After they had completed their packing, they both embraced, and then continued to the entrance. It didn't take long to get there, and they set their Pteranodons down at the entrance. They didn't go into the frozen cave, since Draax was standing right outside, on the back of a Dire Wolf. The wolf snarled and barked, it was black, with yellow eyes. "Stand down boy!" shouted Draax. Draax then looked over at James and said, "I've decided to come with you. I have no life here, and at least there I can make something of myself. You've shown me that I have been a sniveling coward to hide here. I'm ready to finally show myself to Apollo when the time comes." James said, "Good! We're glad you decided to come. We're going to need every man we can get."

"You're Apollo's brother?!" Rhino was incredulous. "James you simply drug up this ice hermit and he claims to be Apollo's brother?" James said, "He is!" Rhino couldn't believe it, and James was amazed that he didn't believe him. Rhino looked Draax in the eye and said, "Alright, if you truly are Apollo's brother, describe him to me." Rhino knew all too well what Apollo looked like. Draax was confident, and he gave Rhino an exact picture of Apollo, so clear, and in such detail, that Rhino apologized. "I guess you've made your point," said the embarrassed Rhino, "I'm sorry." Draax replied, "No matter sir, I'm used to it." "Please call me Rhino," he said. Draax said, "I may seem like a flimsy excuse of a man, but I know how to make good weapons. I also know how to tame dinosaurs, and where to find them. There is a type of dinosaur out there that I had discovered. I never was able to tame it, but I know where they live. It's a giant, even bigger than a T-rex." James said, "Draax, where is it? And how do you know so much about dinosaurs? I was clearly wrong when I thought you were a timid hermit." Draax said, "I was a timid hermit, but I've been that way for too long. I had kept it locked away, and now I'm letting it back out. I can show you the dinosaur, but first..."

Rhino went over to James after the meeting broke up. "I'm sorry I doubted him...and you." he said. James put his arm on Rhino's shoulder and said, "Don't worry Rhino, you would've doubted him just as much if you had seen him when we did for the first time." Rhino chuckled and said, "We tried hunting down some groups of Dino Raiders, not to engage, just to see what was happening." "And?" James asked, "Well it isn't looking good. They've really been putting their noses to the grindstone. They seem like really efficient fighters. I'll be surprised if Apollo doesn't attack us soon." James nodded. "Then we'd better make preparations for war."

Shira and James met up in their house. Shira looked as if she was tired or afraid. James came up to her and looked into her eyes. "Everything is going to be alright." he said. "I know, she responded, I just wish I knew what the future holds." James said, "That isn't our job. We will know in good time." They both went to sleep with heavy hearts, but a determination behind it.


	29. Chapter 29: The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 30

The Calm Before the Storm

"Perfect!" he said, and James agreed. Rhino was overseeing some of the preparations for the Dino Raider's attack on Ark Village. It had been about nine or ten weeks since Apollo had stormed James' house, and they had found Draax. James was ready, Draax had created some masterful armor and weapons far superior than what he had ever expected. Draax, though still haunted from his earlier life, had climbed up out of it, and becoming quite a brave man, which had been suppressed through years of loneliness and fear. As the days and weeks had drug on, James and Shira had become increasingly uneasy. They knew that war was approaching, but waiting for it was maddening. Draax and Rhino both headed the building of the defenses and weapons, while Shadow and James were behind the battle plan. They had made some massive changes to Ark Village, and the entire village had pitched in to help. They had placed huge spiked walls around the perimeter of the village, and pits as well. That was the first wave, and while they were trying to clamber over the wall, and avoid the pits, they'd be shooting with bow and arrows, as well as the rifle that they salvaged from the wreck. They had set up turrets at strategic places, and also dug trenches where they could snipe without being seen. One particularly genius creation by Rhino was the narcotic traps. It was made by placing two canisters of narcotic gas on either end of a tripwire. When it was stepped on, the wire would vibrate, and the canisters would release a knockout punch of narcotic gas. That would be sure to startle the Dino Raiders a bit. From the turrets, they had crafted small catapults where they would hurl the masses of grenades that Rhino had crafted. He had found a vast iron deposit at Mt. Orncreft, and also seams of Sulphur, saltpeter and charcoal in the mines he had made there. With these supplies he had made over 50 grenades, and he was going to use them all very carefully. Draax hadn't forgotten about the giant dinosaur he had mentioned to James on the day he left his ice cave, no indeed. In fact, the day came where Draax, Shira, Rhino, Shadow and James would go out in search of it. Draax had said that it was far larger than a Tyrannosaurus, or even a Spinosaurus. James couldn't fathom that size, as Spinosaurus was tremendously huge, and T-rex being nothing to shake a stick at either. James tried to think of any carnivorous dinosaurs larger than a Spinosaurus, and he couldn't think of any. Spinosaurus was the largest Theropod ever discovered, unless this was a totally new Ark species that was unknown on the mainland. The more he thought about it, the more curious he became.

The day came when they were to find the new dinosaur. James was incredibly excited, and they each took a different class of dinosaurs. Rhino took his Spinosaurus in case they needed some muscle. Draax took his Dire Wolf, which was his only mount. James took Alan, Shira took Razorback, her Kaprosuchus, and Shadow showed up with something James didn't expect at all. It looked like a huge Raptor, but much skinnier, and with a small beaked head. It also had long, powerful legs, and a spiny crest. It was a Gallimimus, something James had never seen before. James looked at the mischievous Shadow and said, "Where did you get that...When did you get it?" Shadow said, "Yesterday, you were too busy to notice I was gone. Say hello to Strider." James was amazed. Gallimimus was a large dinosaur from the Ornithomimid, or Ostrich Dinosaur family. He even had a saddle for it that could hold a passenger. James was impressed, and he knew that the Gallimimus' extreme speed could be quite an asset in many different situations. The expedition mounted, and James asked Draax exactly where the dinosaur was. Draax replied that it was far north, and it lived just below where it began to get cold, in the plains area. He said that it couldn't live in a forest due to its huge size. Shira said, "Alright, if this thing is a huge carnivore like you said, Shadow, you should use Strider as a decoy while the rest of us unload tranq darts at it. Rhino should use his Spinosaur in case anything gets out of hand, and I can snipe from afar with my Kaprosuchus." James nodded, "Agreed, Draax, how long until we can get there?" Draax replied, "I'm not sure. A while, we may have to spend a few days out there if we can't find it." James nodded, "Let's go."

They had spent the entire day traveling towards the area. They made camp in the forest, with the plains area just outside. James was able to get a good look at Strider, and he was amazing. Strider had no real fighting ability, and in fact, it was quite skittish, even in the peaceful setting they were in now. James walked over to the edge of the vast spread of grassland in front of him. This was very near the place where they found and tamed the Iguanodon and Pachyrinosaurus. James wondered whether they would see any more exotic dinosaurs out here. Draax knew that they would find the elusive dinosaur, which he had heard some call, "The Lord Stalker." It definitely wasn't a very friendly name, and it only intensified James' wish to see it. They were all going out to find it in the morning, but for right now, they each set up their own mats near a central campfire. James and Shira shared one, and Draax, Rhino, and Shadow each had separate ones. Each two hours a lookout was posted to look out for any danger, which was everywhere on this island. As James slipped into his blanket, he smiled at his wife, who was throwing one last log on the fire before she clambered in the mat. Shira smiled and said, "I'm trying to forget about the Dino Raiders." James nodded, "Let's just pretend like this is just like the old days. We're out on a care-free taming mission." Shira smiled, nodded, and went to sleep surprisingly fast. While James had lifted a bit of Shira's burden, he didn't believe anything he said. He knew all too well that this wasn't a care-free taming mission. They were out here to find a war machine. A biological weapon. What it even was, or if they could even tame it were still up in the air, and James didn't like it. He laid on his back, staring into the sky, and waiting for morning. Draax was up taking his watch, but he looked as if he was about to nod off at the drop of a hat. James carefully emerged from the mat and went over to Draax. "Let me take over." he said. Draax shook his head vigorously, and said in a moaning tone, "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." With that, Draax stumbled off to his mat, falling asleep before his head hit the pillow. While he was up, he looked back up at the sky. This time it wasn't clouded over. The stars shone like tiny diamonds each beautiful in their own way. Some may call it strange that staring up at the heavens could provide any comfort at all, but it was balm to James. He knew that the same One who built those stars out of nothing, could also help him when he needed it, and so he asked for it. After he finished praying and his shift was up, he quietly tip-toed his way back to his mat, where he saw Shira, her eyes open, her face smiling and understanding. She knew what he was doing, and James knew it, and appreciated it. Climbing back in, she looked at him and said, "He'll help us James, as he always has."

The next morning Draax shook everybody awake. Ironic due to his previous night's seeming blackout, but here he was. "It's here!" he hissed, in a voice that wouldn't have woken many people out of a deep sleep, but it woke James up as if he had just had a brick flung at his nose. They all rushed to the border of the forest. There it was indeed. A monster so enormous, so huge, so indescribably terrifying it took James' breath away. The titan looked like an oversized Tyrannosaurus, but far, far larger. James estimated it to be at least 90 feet long, far surpassing the T-rex at 40-45 feet, or the Spinosaurus at 60 feet. It had a long snout, which was deep and spiky. it had two horns similar to a Carnotaurus' but smaller. It was incredibly bulky and heavy, it also looked like it was slow moving. James couldn't think of any other name for this monster except for Giganotosaurus. Giganotosaurus was a huge dinosaur discovered in South America, however that species was 50 feet long. This species was 40 feet longer, and far heavier. James formulated a plan. He had concocted a narcotic that was far more powerful than the normal one. Ever since he had taken out the Mosasaurus with regular narcotics, he had refined a much more potent mix, which should take out this Giganotosaurus far quicker than normal. James had a plan, and he was sure it would work. They would go out with the Gallimimus, and run in circles, the Giganotosaurus surely following with a vengeance. Since the saddle was a two-seater, one would be in the back shooting tranq darts at the monster while the one in the front drove the Gallimimus. Almost no creature could compete with the Gallimimus for speed, so there wasn't much of a need to worry. They could easily outrun the bulky and clumsy Giganotosaurus. They decided to do it, and all that he would have to do was to stay well and away from the Giganotosaurus. "Hey James!" said Rhino. James looked over. "I and Draax made this for you." Without any warning Rhino held up what looked like a rifle! James was stunned. "Wha-How?" "Draax and I disassembled the rifle and built this from scratch by building identical parts. We thought we'd surprise you with it. James was amazed. It didn't look different from the other rifle at all, except the barrel on this one was calibrated for tranq darts. Perfect! How he was able to enlarge the barrel and still have the parts mesh was a mystery. He took it, and loaded in several tranq darts. With the new tranq rifle, it would be a whole lot easier for the darts to penetrate the Giganotosaurus' hide. James and Shira mounted the Gallimimus and set out. Rhino still mounted his Spinosaurus to watch from afar, and Draax stalked nearby on his Dire Wolf. If anything went wrong, they would be ready, although James had the horrible, and unexplainable feeling that even a mighty Spinosaurus wouldn't be enough to stop a creature this massive. It was something he didn't like to admit, though it was an unshakable feeling. The Dire Wolf would only probably distract it, and the Kaprosuchus wouldn't even be noticed. This was a Sauropod killer, and even the Tyrannosaurus couldn't claim that title accurately. While the T-rex could indeed kill Sauropods, it usually didn't. James couldn't see anything but Sauropods on this monster's menu. They carefully stalked the edge of the forest, creeping ever closer to the Giganotosaurus. It didn't seem to notice them, small wonder, though it wasn't really doing anything, merely standing around. James was in the front driving, since Shira was a far better sharpshooter than he was. James kept going, slinking from tree to tree. Soon they were within shooting distance. James gave the rifle to Shira. She took it, opened the bolt, slid in a tranq dart, and took aim...With a deafening roar the Giganotosaurus bit at where it had been shot. Bravely, and seemingly insane, though according to plan, Strider exploded from the brush. The Giganotosaurus whipped its head over there towards Strider. Its enormous mouth gaped and teeth flashed. It charged, heaving its massive body intent on murder towards James. Shira kept shooting the Giganotosaurus, which was running even slower than they previously thought. They kept a respectful distance from it, but continued shooting with the rifle, which shot far further than a tranq bow. The Giganotosaurus roared loudly, and began to look like it was stumbling a bit. This was great! It was going as perfect as it possibly could. After several more circles, the Giganotosaurus shook its massive head and bellowed. Then in a tremendous crash, it collapsed to the ground in a gigantic sprawling heap. James stopped Strider and dismounted. Shira jumped off as well. They just stood there, too excited to move forward. It was definitely knocked out, that was for sure. James then suddenly ran forward, but Shira stayed put for a few seconds, startled at what she had done. James turned around, saw her, ran back, grabbed her arm and yelled, "You did it! Come on! Come look at it!" Shira suddenly shook herself out of her paralysis and let the adrenaline flood her system. She ran over towards it. It was truly massive. Rhino had stored a huge amount of saddle making supplies on his Spinosaurus. Rhino, Draax, and Shadow all came storming over on their dinosaurs. Draax came up first on his Dire Wolf. Shira's Kaprosuchus came sprinting close behind. James looked at it. It was double the size of a T-Rex, and it was covered in spikes all over. James couldn't believe his eyes. He stared at it, and then got his wits about him. They had brought massive quantities of prime meat and narcotics to give it. They assumed you tamed it the same way you tamed a T-Rex. James went up to its giant head and poured in the narcotics and prime meat. This was extremely similar to taming the Mosasaurus.

After several hours, it was tamed. Turned out, you did tame it the same way you tamed a T-Rex, which they had done many times before. After a day or two, they had built a saddle for it, with an oversized iron bridle that looked like a solid sewer pipe. James named him Hercules, and little wonder. They knew that this was going to totally tip the battle to their side. A monster of this magnitude would completely scare the Dino Raiders off. That night, they camped, but James and Shira both kept watch over Hercules. They kept a respectful distance from it. Even though it was tamed, they didn't fully trust it. They didn't have a firm grasp on its behavioral patterns, and when a Tyrannosaurus is first tamed, it is pretty unpredictable as well. As they stood by a tree next to each other, James smiled and chuckled. "What is it James?" asked Shira. "Good shot." he replied. She scoffed and shook her head. "No I'm not." she said. "Though I am better than you." James looked over and saw a look of mischief on his wife's face. "You're right though." he said. She laughed, "Just teasing." pause. "But not really." James said laughing. Shira laughed with him. James loved hearing her laugh now. She hadn't been laughing as easily as before, and he didn't want her to slip back into a depression like she was in when the first landed. If he brother's tragic departure could ruin her, a huge battle that was altogether unnecessary certainly could. He looked into her eyes and said, "It's good to hear you laughing again." She looked down at the ground and said, "I want to laugh. Ever since my brother disappeared I've been blaming myself and my circumstances. You've given me my life back. If God has to try me by giving us such a situation as this, I cannot complain or say He is wrong. I've forgiven myself, and I have forgiven him. I have only you to thank for that." With a tear of mixed emotions in his eye, James embraced his best friend, who did the same. He had his own things he could say about her, but right now, she had said more than enough, and those words echoed in his ears long afterward.

The return to Ark Village was, surprisingly, quicker than the first time around. Hercules attracted a huge crowd when he came stomping into the Village. Many of the men in Ark Village had been training while they were gone. Nothing much else to report as James found out. This agitated him a bit. It was like the calm before the storm. The longer Apollo and the Dino Raiders stood in the shadows, the more uneasy James and the others became. James oversaw the construction of more traps and holdups for the Dino Raiders. They had one more project to do though. They had to craft war armor for the Giganotosaurus. They had made a large iron saddle, and then they crafted a huge metal helmet that covered its snout and head, as well as protecting its eyes. Another ingenious addition were two saw-blades that came down right next to the Giganotosaurus' teeth. These blades were like an extra set of metal teeth. They would do even more damage. They also added metal protection to the legs, back, and stomach. It made Hercules seem even more terrifying, which seemed quite hard from the outset. James was out in the trenches digging a pit along with several other members of Ark Village. He had always liked working alongside the men, instead of lording over them from above. Even a good overseer was seen with more respect if he didn't mind getting his hands dirty. As he was working, the pit he was digging was just about three feet deep. Once it got too deep, he'd get out and cover it up. As he was digging, he threw up another shovel-load of dirt and stopped to wipe his dripping forehead. As he did, he looked up and saw a hand holding a cup. He looked up, smiling. It was Shira holding a cup of water in her hand. James smiled, clambered out of the pit, and took it, drinking it down slowly, savoring it. Shira had a concerned look on her face, "You've been working extremely hard. Maybe you should rest a few minutes." James shook his head, "Sorry Shira I can't. Thank you so much for the water, you're a lifesaver." She smiled weakly, it was a fake and James knew it. He didn't know when the Dino Raiders were coming, but he was ready, any other traps they could set up would be purely cosmetics. They had built armor and weapons, trained their dinosaurs, built up defenses, tamed the Giganotosaurus, unlocked the secret behind Apollo, and now, it was time. They were waiting on Apollo now. He looked at her, and put his hands on her shoulders, "We're going to make it," he said. She smiled and looked back at the ground. "If only we knew when." she said. James knew full well what she meant. Simply waiting on the edge of the cliff not being able to move was more than he could bear. It only added to the tension that the invisible hand could knock them off the cliff at any second it pleased.

They had sent out couriers and scouts to search the general area of Ark Village. The reports had been vague, and James didn't like it. For the past several weeks, they had reported seeing Dino Raider bands training. Some had gotten dangerously close to the Dino Raiders, but miraculously none had been captured so far...so far. Those words were trusted by James as much as he trusted a politician's promise. So far could take a dramatic turn quicker than a man could blink. The couriers should be arriving shortly, and Shadow always sent James a report. He saw Shadow come up, and he walked over. "Anything?" "Nothing." he replied. James sighed, "Until tomorrow then..."

James and Shira were in their house early the next morning. James was formulating the plan of action, and so was Shira. Shadow had gone out on several taming missions, and he had brought back an impressive amount of Pulmonoscorpius', and Araneomorphus', which were certain to send a jolt of fear down any Dino Raider's back. Those giant spiders and giant scorpions were probably the most terrifying creatures on the island. Even a Raptor doesn't have the same terror as a gigantic spider that could shoot webs out at you, and dissolve your insides when it bites and poisons you. It was something that made James shudder when he thought of it. He himself would much rather face a wild Raptor than a wild Araneomorphus. Shira was just pointing out a place on the map when suddenly Shadow exploded into the house. He was breathless and white as a sheet. "What is it?!" asked James. Shadow looked wild, and he said the words James knew, but dreaded he would say. "They're here."


	30. Chapter 30: The Battle for Ark

Chapter 31

The Battle for Ark

The Dino Raiders were advancing, and getting closer. They however, were ready. Within minutes the alarm sounded and almost all of the village was on their battle dinosaurs. The women and children who couldn't fight were sent into the fortified center of the village. He did have a small force of women as snipers on the high and hidden parts of the area. They knew their places and were commanded to stick to them. This was it, the moment of truth. All of their training and discipline would need to be in place now. James mounted Hercules, and charged forward. A gigantic rank of war dinosaurs formed, one person slithering along on the Arthropluera, another on a T-rex, another on a Spinosaurus. Rhino came up on his Spinosaurus. James had let Phil go without a rider, since he knew friend from foe. He also had armor on him. Shadow came up on his Megalosaurus, Shira however, James saw dash off to her sniping position on her Kaprosuchus. Draax was at the back of the group on his Dire Wolf. There were about a hundred villagers all on their own dinosaurs. Triceratops, Stegosaurs, Tyrannosaurs, Smilodon, and even an Allosaurus. It was a terrifying procession, as they poured out of Ark Village and into the Western Field where the Dino Raiders were coming from. All of the Ark Villagers knew where the traps were at, so if they had to retreat, they could defend the village. Right now they were going to go on a massive frontal assault, and try to kill the Dino Raiders biggest dinosaurs. Now, as they formed on the edge of the field, James got his first look at the Dino Raiders ranks. He saw Apollo riding on something so terrifying, James felt his stomach wrench. It was an Alpha Tyrannosaurus rex. Almost the size of the Giganotosaurus, it was glowing orange. it was dark as midnight, with blood red patches on it that made it look like it had huge battle scars on it. The ranks formed, and James recognized several dinosaurs and animals that he had never seen before. Several Dino Raiders were on Terror Birds, which looked like ostriches, except they had huge sharp beaks. On another side he saw gigantic monitor lizards that looked like 30 foot Komodo dragons. These were called Megalania. A large Spinosaur without a sail called Baryonyx. These dinosaurs and creatures dominated the other side. He didn't know what was running through Apollo's mind, but there they were. The two armies stood at a standstill, each staring at the other. James decided to speak to his enemy. "Apollo!" he shouted, "You're here, and you see our strength. Due to your terrible lack of hiding your secrets, we have come prepared." "As I knew you would," replied Apollo. "I may have spared your life many times, but now, I will kill you, and destroy your village." James stared at the Alpha Rex and said, "You think you'll be able to stand up to us? You've grown cocky in your old age!" Apollo laughed, but definitely not at the jeer. "And you've lost all of your fear!" James replied, "I'm not afraid of you!" Apollo laughed again, "Well you should be! You might think you can try and sweet-talk me into giving up on my attack, but I've waited long enough for my revenge, and nothing will stop me, not even the piddly little mount you're sitting on. I have mastered the Alpha Rex!" James shouted back, "Then may the blood be on your hands Apollo, may it be known that we fought a madman!" Apollo retorted, "I am not afraid to get blood on my hands! Men, charge!" With that, the Dino Raiders all began to charge, a blood-curdling roar exploded from both the Alpha Rex and the Giganotosaurus as they began running onto the collision course. The Giganotosaurus roared and stomped forward. Though James couldn't see it, the Giganotosaurus' eyes were turning a glowing orange like an ember. The Alpha Rex and the Giganotosaurus both were heading right for each other, eager to attack. The opposite armies each slammed into each other, and then James' Giganotosaurus opened its huge mouth, its massive legs crashing forward, and it sunk its teeth into the Alpha Rex's jaws.

Watching the carnage from a distance, Shira stood just above the fray at her sniper position, she momentarily stopped sniping with the actual rifle when the two gigantic Theropods smacked into each other. He saw James latch himself onto the saddle locks, and saw Hercules bite down onto the Alpha Rex's neck. The Alpha Rex roared and tried to swing around, almost releasing itself. Shira prayed, "Oh God please protect him." She suddenly remembered her work, and looking down the scope, aimed for a Dino Raider, shot, and brought him down. Suddenly, she had the horrid feeling she was being watched. Without thinking, she rolled to her left, dodging a spear that slammed into the forest floor. She turned around to see a Dino Raider alone without a mount. She lifted the rifle and shouted loudly and in her most intimidating voice, "Stand down or I will shoot you!" The Dino Raider laughed and shouted, "Pointing a stick at me isn't going to stop me, and he lifted a club, forcing Shira to shoot. He went down and Shira breathed heavily. She reloaded, and looked back into the fray. The Giganotosaurus and Alpha Rex were still fighting it out, and it didn't look like the battle was going in either direction.

On the back of the saddle, James was fighting to keep control of the Giganotosaurus, which was basically fighting on its own already. He held onto the reigns for dear life. The Alpha Rex, with a mighty jerk, finally released itself from Hercules' grip. The Alpha Rex roared a deep thundering roar far louder and more terrifying than any normal Tyrannosaurus could. The Giganotosaurus stood defensively and roared in return. This is where James saw something terrifying. Apollo was no longer in the saddle. James knew his plan now. Apollo had meant for him to be trapped on the back of the Giganotosaurus, and probably meeting his doom while Apollo would release himself onto the battlefield. James shouted, and the Alpha Rex roared and circled Hercules. The Alpha Rex stepped forward ever so slightly, but James took his chance, letting down the ladder and taking a few frantic steps down before jumping onto the ground and running away as fast as he could. He didn't even need to be on the Giganotosaurus anyway. It seemed to be muscling the Alpha Rex around.

Shira looked on in horror, looking through the scope. Did she really just see James lowering the ladder? She gasped in terror when she saw James flying down the ladder, then drop to the ground and run off, nearly getting crushed by the Alpha Rex's foot. She kept looking as he ran off. He engaged a Dino Raider and brought him down. As she looked, she looked around his area to see if she could pick off anybody who tried to attack him. She suddenly saw a Terror Bird scout heading right for him. She took aim, and shot the Terror Bird in the head, killing it. The Dino Raider fell from under it, and James saw him and engaged, bringing him down. Shira kept watching from a distance. The fight continued but nobody seemed to be gaining the upper hand. It was horrible to watch, and she looked down constantly. She picked off another Dino Raider and kept looking around.

James went looking for Apollo. He drew his sword from his sheath and took out the shield from behind him. He felt like a medieval knight, but without any other weapons choice, he was forced to use medieval weaponry. He had given the rifle to his wife, who he prayed to God was safe. He saw one of the horrid Terror Bird scouts in the near distance. He hated them, they were extremely fast and extremely deadly. They could sprint up right next to you and the rider could swipe with his sword or club, or the bird would come and crush your head in its beak. It was a combination made in Hell, and James was constantly on the lookout. He also kept looking at the different dinosaurs and keeping his wits about him was difficult. He spotted Rhino on his Spinosaurus killing one of the Dino Raider's Tyrannosaurs, but Ark Village's dinosaurs were also being cut down. Shadow ran here and there with his Megalosaurus, picking off anything he could. James suddenly saw Apollo attacking an Ark Villager. He rushed off, but Apollo looked his way and disappeared. James would've followed in hot pursuit, but he was suddenly attacked by a Dino Raider's Dilophosaurus. He swiped at him with his sword but missed. He shielded his face, and heard venom splatter all over it. He swiped again, and killed it. When he got back up, he was assaulted by a Dino Raider, whose reckless charge James used against him, and he was easily taken out. He looked back where Apollo was. He was gone. Frustrated, James looked out to sea, and saw something he wasn't expecting at all. He saw a large front of sea creatures advancing on Ark Village. This was something he wasn't prepared for. It was the one card up Apollo's sleeve that James knew was coming, but he didn't know what. There were several Elasmosaurus heads poking out of the water like weeds. There was also a large amount of riders on them. James called for a retreat. They had done the damage. He looked back at Hercules, who he had completely forgotten about, miraculously. The Giganotosaurus was pummeling the Alpha Rex, and then with one mightier roar, it slammed its huge body into the weakened Alpha Rex. The Giganotosaurus however, hadn't seemed to have taken much damage at all. The Alpha Rex roared and tried to muscle the Giganotosaurus one final time. However the Giganotosaurus grabbed the top of the Alpha Rex's head and crushed it into the ground. The Alpha Rex squirmed and tried weakly to get up, but the Giganotosaurus landed a massive foot on its neck, and then in a sickening jerk, snapped the Alpha Rex's neck. James cheered, and then suddenly remembered the aquatic creatures heading towards them. He got out the horn and loudly sounded it. The Giganotosaurus immediately started to kill some of the other giant Theropods the Dino Raiders had. The retreat started, and dinosaurs and men began pouring back into Ark Village.

They were surrounded, except for James and Shira. All of the others had retreated back into the village. Apollo and the Dino Raiders were waiting outside the village, besieging it. On the other side, there was a huge amount of aquatic creatures waiting. There were Elasmosaurus necks sticking out of the water, and the fins of Megalodon's as well. They were also pretty sure that there were creatures in the water they hadn't ever seen before. James and Shira didn't know what to do, until James had a brainwave. "I have it." he whispered to Shira. "What is it?" she asked. James replied, "The Mosasaurus." Shira's eyes widened. Then she nodded. They looked back out at the field, well hidden. The Dino Raiders were trying to break in, but the traps and fences were working, and while they were wasting time on that, snipers were shooting from every side. Their plan was working, and it didn't look like the Dino Raiders were paying any attention. They snuck behind the village to the bay where the Mosasaur was kept. The Dino Raiders couldn't have seen them. They had a large storage cabinet in a small structure on the beach that held all of their scuba equipment. They donned it, and then swam out to the bay. The Mosasaurus was waiting, and seemingly agitated. It probably sensed the other creatures invading its territory. They opened the huge gate to the bay, and both mounted the Mosasaurus. To control such a massive creature, there needed to be two drivers, one on each side. Each person would hold a reign. This could be confusing if two inexperienced drivers were riding, but James and Shira had ridden on the Mosasaur many timed before. Along with the Mosasaur, they released two Megalodon. The Megalodon would be more than capable of attacking without riders, and since they considered the bay their territory, they wouldn't swim away, in fact, if the Dino Raiders would leave, they would swim back into the bay on their own. They got on each side. The gate fully opened, and with a massive bellowing roar the Mosasaurus exploded from the bay. There were several different types of sea creatures there. There were Megalodon, Elasmosaurus, and a huge 30 foot long armored fish called Dunkleosteous. James had never seen them before. They had bony armor on the front half of their body, and a huge beak made of bone, that could crush the same thing. There was a huge amount, but the Mosasaur, all 600 feet, was nearly invincible in the water. However, they saw something gigantic in the water. It looked like a giant whale shark. It was a Leedsichthys. However, it wasn't carrying anything, and didn't look like it was even wearing a saddle. As the Mosasaur approached, the Elasmosaurs and Megalodon seemed to try to react, but the reaction time was delayed far too long, as the Mosasaurus, like a monstrous living torpedo, slammed into the aquatic Dino Raider squadron. It opened its huge mouth and bit down on a Megalodon, killing it, and sending the riders flying into the air. All of the other Dino Raiders were visibly startled, and some panicked and actually swam off. Others tried to stand their ground, but the combined effects of two Megalodon and a 600 foot long Mosasaurus made incredibly short work of the blockade. The Dunkleosteous and Megalodon and Elasmosaurs were all dead, or had swam off. The Leedsichthys however didn't swim off, but they left it alone, as it wasn't doing anything, and didn't have any riders or equipment on it. For all James knew, it probably was a wild animal that was at the wrong place at the wrong time. James didn't know if the Dino Raiders had a Mosasaur, or if they had even heard of one. They did seem quite shocked and taken back when they saw it, so obviously they weren't expecting it. This was an easy victory for James, however, he decided to leave the Mosasaurus loose in the bay, in case any other aquatic Dino Raiders returned. As mentioned before, the Mosasaurs and Megalodon viewed the bay as their territory, and so wouldn't want to leave it, rather, they would defend it to the death. Also James noticed that dinosaurs and other creatures became far less hostile to other friendly creatures when tamed. The Mosasaurus wouldn't want to kill the other tamed Megalodon, as they would work together to kill any Dino Raiders that came back. James dismounted the Mosasaur, and swam back to the beach with Shira. As they emerged, they did a quick lookout for any enemies on the beach. It was clear, however the blockade on the land side had gotten far larger. They crept back up, got out of their scuba gear, put their armor back on, grabbed their weapons and snuck back up to the village through a secret entryway they had built. They entered and saw the land blockade. To their horror, it had grown twice as large, and with twice the dinosaurs and men. James crept around the village. He met up with Rhino. The village and the blockade weren't silent by any means. There was shouting, yelling, arrows whistling to and fro, one narrowly missing James head. Dinosaurs roaring, small Raptors and Dilophosaurs jumping into the village, and being killed by Ark's army. Some of the women they were sniping were forced to sneak back to the village, as their positions were now controlled by the Dino Raiders. Some of the snipers were still in position though, and were raining arrows down on the Dino Raiders. James went frantically searching for Rhino, and he found him, finishing off an enemy Araneomorphus. He ran over, "James! I thought you were dead!" Rhino shouted as he came over. "Where were you?" James explained about the aquatic blockade, and his destruction of it, and Rhino replied, "We didn't even notice it! But while you were gone, they had sent in a huge reinforcement, and all of us were forced back to the village. We've been trying to beat them back, and there aren't very many casualties on our side." James asked, "Where are all of our big dinosaurs?" Rhino replied, "They're all out battling the Dino Raiders big dinosaurs. They sent in five or six Tyrannosaurs and about seven Spinosaurs. Hercules, two Tyrannosaurs, and my Spinosaurus are out with them. James wasn't so much worried about Hercules, as he would come back to the village if he cleaned up the enemies big dinosaurs. Whether he would come back or not was a mystery. That many giant Theropods would be a terribly tall order for any dinosaur, even the mighty Giganotosaurus. Shadow then ran up and shouted, "I'm releasing the Araneo's!" James knew he was referring to the Giant Spiders. He opened the gate, and over two dozen of the monsters began swarming the Dino Raiders, shooting out sticky webs, and killing many of the small harassing dinosaurs. Then Shadow released the Pulmonoscorpius. James cheered as several of the Dino Raiders were down, and dinosaurs falling left and right. Then his smile disappeared. In the near distance he looked and saw a gigantic silhouette. It towered above everything, and right beside it were two Alpha Rex's. It was a Sauropod, so massive, so huge, it was difficult to comprehend. It was still on the far horizon, but it looked up close. There were huge bony armor plates on its back that looked like huge boulders. It had a gigantic platform saddle on it, with archers on the back. It was a dinosaur that he had never seen before. It was a Titanosaurus. The species back on the mainland was about 60 feet long, though its relatives such as Argentinosaurus or Paralititan could reach lengths of over 100 feet. This creature broke those boundaries to pieces, reaching lengths of 500 feet, sometimes even larger. How such an enormous creature could even sustain its weight on land was a mystery. It looked as if the creature was being guided by a huge amount of drivers. The two Alpha Rex's on each side made James wince. Rhino came right up to the fence, and looked in terror. All of the other Dino Raiders began to retreat, and fall back over towards the Titanosaur. As they left, James saw the carcasses of many Dino Raider dinosaurs and soldiers on the ground. Some of the women who weren't snipers were doctoring the wounded Ark Villagers. All of the faces in Ark Village stared at this new dinosaur, which literally took James' breath away. Before they struck, James took one look at the bay again. Nothing. He ran back to the front and saw the Titanosaur. Its size was still unable to fully process. As it lumbered closer, James began to get more and more concerned, as he frantically tried to create a plan. The large walls they had made were suddenly bombarded with a large stone. Startled, James looked over the approaching Titanosaurus. There was a large catapult on the top of the Sauropod. James shouted in frustration. Rhino said, "James, we need to go and find Hercules, he's the only dinosaur that can kill this thing!" James agreed, and only more so when another huge boulder went sailing right for the walls of the village. It punched it with huge force, causing the wall to buckle and crumble. It was something that forced shouts from several fronts. James saw a man topple from the Titanosaurus and fall quite a ways to the ground, obviously one of the snipers had shot him right from the saddle. Soon, since the Titanosaurus kept coming and coming, slowly, but painfully surely. Rhino and Shadow had went out to see if they could find Hercules, while James mounted a Tyrannosaurus, and went charging for the Titanosaurus, it was do or die, and right now, it seemed as if the latter would come true.


	31. Chapter 31: Final Meetings

Chapter 32

Final Meetings

Charging forward on Tyros, James gritted his teeth. Tyros was roaring. Suddenly, two more Tyrannosaurs pulled up beside him. Draax was riding one, and Shadow was riding the other. They pulled up beside, roaring. James looked behind him and saw two Pteranodon taking off. On the back of one was Shira, and on the other was Edmonto. Tobi went off soaring on Midnight, his Argentavis. The three of them were each armed with bow and arrows, and Shira was using the rifle. Edmonto, though young, was a good enough sharpshooter to make it on the flight. He was also probably one of the village's most accomplished flyers. The two Alpha Rex's began charging ahead of the Titanosaur. James braced himself as Tyros roared, and opened his huge mouth. The two massive beasts collided in a huge thud that shook James to the very core. He shouted as the Alpha Rex began to attack. Tyros was the largest and strongest of the three T-Rex's that were attacking the Alphas. Each Tyrannosaurus was attacking an Alpha while the third Rex started to attack the Titanosaur while arrows rained down from the riders on the platform saddle on it. Shadow was the one attacking the Titanosaur. The T-rex bit and ripped at the Sauropod's legs. Fortunately, the armor that they had placed on the T-Rex was paying off, and the arrows were bouncing off of it with ease. The catapults on the back of the Titanosaur were also rigged for long distance firing, so they couldn't shoot it directly at the Sauropod's feet. James was fighting hard against the Alpha, when suddenly the enemy dinosaur roared, and grabbed Tyros' snout. James yelled and Tyros thrashed and roared. The other Alpha used its head as a tremendous battering ram, and slammed it into Draax's Tyrannosaurus. Draax's Rex toppled, but the Alpha didn't finish him off, instead it immediately went for Shadow's Rex, trying to stop him from harming the Titanosaurus. James was terrified. Would he die here, fighting tooth and nail? Tyros roared, and then screamed a loud and ear splitting cry. Tyros was brought down by the Alpha, and James was tangled in the saddle straps, which had come loose and lashed themselves around him. The Alpha looked right at Tyros face. James looked at heaven, and shouted, "Lord! Help me!" The Alpha suddenly looked right at James. It stomped over, staring at James and roaring. James hair flew as the wind blasted from the roar exploded in James' ears, and the roar made his eyes close, and James yell in terror. The Alpha raised its huge head to give James the kill hit, when suddenly it was gone. As if it had been brushed aside by some almighty hand. Now that the Alpha was off, Tyros quickly got back on his feet, and headed back to the Alpha with a vengeance. However, this time the Alpha was busy fighting something huge. It was Hercules! Very close indeed to an almighty hand. Rhino was on the back of Hercules, and James could see a vengeful smile on the big man's face. The Alpha was being positively battered, as James was quickly learning something about the Giganotosaurus, and that is the animal's rage. This phenomenon is known only in Giganotosaurus, and it how it works is quite interesting. The more an animal would fight a Giganotosaurus, the angrier that the Giganotosaurus would become. Its eyes would glow orange, and it would fight with twice as much ferocity, even gaining stamina. In short, Giganotosaurus became even tougher to fight the longer it fought. The Alpha was beginning to lose energy, and with the combined attacks of Hercules and Tyros, it was losing blood rapidly. Draax and Shadow were both concentrating on the other Alpha. They pummeled it with as much force as they could. Hercules, fighting the other Alpha, saw an opening, and clamped its huge jaws down on the Alpha's head, biting down on the eyes. It then torqued its head, and snapped the Alpha's neck in true Theropod fashion. It was a calling-card of many large Theropods, to snap the necks of their opponents. It was brutal, but very effective with their large jaws. In a show of domination, Hercules stepped on the head of the dead Alpha Rex, and gave off a booming, earth shattering roar, challenging the other Alpha. The two T-Rex's, which had been battling the Alpha instinctively backed off, respecting Hercules' challenge. The Alpha, panting, looked at Hercules. It roared back and charged. Hercules went forward with crashing footsteps. It seemed even the Dino Raiders on the Titanosaurus had stopped to stare in awe at the spectacle. Hercules slammed into the Alpha was monstrous force. Shira, was sniping Dino Raiders from her Pteranodon. Some of the Dino Raiders in the Titanosaurus were shooting back, but they couldn't shoot quick enough to shoot the Pteranodons back. Hercules was biting, and the Alpha Rex was weakening extremely quickly. It didn't take long for Hercules to down the Alpha Rex. When James looked behind him, he suddenly saw that the Dino Raiders that had retreated were now back at the village. Now James saw their plan. They would use the Alpha Rex's and Titanosaurus as a distraction, and then they would attack while Ark's giant Theropods weren't there to protect the village. He shouted over to Rhino on Hercules, "Attack the Titanosaur, Me, Shadow and Draax are heading back to the village!" Rhino nodded and with a roar Hercules began tearing into the Titanosaurus.

After reaching the village, James set the Tyrannosaurus loose to attack the Dino Raiders dinosaurs while they battled Dino Raider foot soldiers inside the village. The catapult damage they had sustained allowed Dino Raider soldiers and small Dino Raider's dinosaurs into the village. James drew his sword and shield and charged. He looked around for Apollo. He hadn't seen him in ages it seemed, and he was eager for his final meeting with him. Draax was alongside James. "Draax?" asked James, "What are you doing here?" "Same reason you are," he said, "To find my brother." James nodded, and they went off in search. As they sprinted along the wall to avoid the Dino Raider snipers, they suddenly heard a loud hiss above their head. It was the giant lizard Megalania, gripping the wall with its claws. James instinctively slammed his sword into the monster's head. It hissed, and cowered away, though the rider had a bow and arrow. James ran quickly away, dodging the arrows he shot. They suddenly saw a Dino Raider run into the Ark Village hall. He and Draax ran inside, and when they did, they saw who they were looking for. Apollo stood at the end of the building, confident, smug, and clutching a huge black iron battle axe with a huge spike on one end, and a massive axe blade on the other. It was a double handed power weapon, which matched his black armor and spiked helmet. He looked as if he had been expecting the two of them for a long time, and no wonder. James stepped forward. "Nice to finally meet you Apollo." Apollo laughed and replied, "Sorry to keep you waiting." James said, "I'll have you know that your pitiful attempt at a counterattack with the Titanosaurus has failed." Apollo couldn't see Draax, who was wearing a helmet that covered his face. James and Apollo wore helmets that only covered the top and back of their heads. Apollo walked, loudly with his large combat boots and armor. He stopped in the middle. From the inside of his helmet, Draax felt a tear come into his eye. He had felt hatred towards Apollo for so long, brooding and wishing for his death. Now that he saw him again, all he wanted to do was embrace him, and call him back to the light. He knew it was too late for that now, but he wanted it now more than he wanted anything. He had, in a second, forgiven his brother for all the pain and heartache he had caused him. He put himself back together, and decided to reveal himself when he had to. Apollo continued his conversation, "Where's your giant Rex?" asked Apollo referring to the Giganotosaurus. "Where are all three of your Alpha Rex's?" asked James. Apollo gave a smile, but a menacing one, "Where you put them." he replied, "Just because you think you can kill them doesn't mean you can defeat me. I will bring you and your village to the ground where it belongs." James tried one last time to get something out of Apollo, "What do you have against us? Don't bring up our raid, we did it in self-defense. We left you alone, why can't you leave us alone?" Apollo raised his voice a bit higher than normal, "I have been taken advantaged of my entire life! I want you to know that as long as I am fit to fight, I will destroy everything that reminds me of what people have done to me. Your sickening tribe full of these sniveling idiots is exactly what my old tribe was like. I will end it if I can!" James nodded, "What happened to you in your early life? Why do you hate free tribes so much?" James already knew the answer from Draax, though he wondered if Apollo would say anything about his parents, or Draax. Apollo's eyes narrowed, and he took a step closer. "I don't want you to ever ask me that again." he said, "Although come to think of it, you won't." James stood his ground, sword drawn. He wasn't sure why Apollo didn't come and try to kill him on the spot, though he would let him land the first blow. He looked Apollo square in the eye. Draax then stepped up. "I know what happened to you Apollo." Apollo, startled, stared at who he thought was a random soldier. "And what pray tell happened to me?" asked Apollo sarcastically. Draax went up a bit closer and said, "Apollo was abused emotionally by his parents. They continuously talked down to him and uplifted his younger brother." Apollo looked on in unbelief, not moving. "He let bitterness and resentment flood his heart, until he killed his parents, and tried to create a warring tribe. He couldn't kill his brother, who retreated to the Northlands to hide." With that, Draax removed his mask. Apollo took a step back and his face turned pale. "You." he said simply, shocked to his very core. James knew that this was a massive jolt for Apollo, though he couldn't quite tell how this revelation would be handled. Draax stepped up closer, "I've spent my years hiding, cowering, dreading and yet yearning for this moment." Apollo shouted, "You were supposed to be dead!" Draax said, "Well here I am, alive." Apollo stood, having a horrible look in his narrowed eyes. "Apollo, give this up. You must forgive our parents. I don't want-" "I will never forgive them. Who do you think you are to ask me that?! You are the sniveling coward that my parents always favored. You honestly think I will forgive them?! No!" James was full of mixed emotions. On one hand he felt terribly for Apollo, and on the other hand he was enraged at him for speaking so about his parents and Draax. Draax looked Apollo in the eye and said, "I have forgiven you." Apollo huffed, let out a laugh and said, "I don't want your forgiveness. I don't want it. Keep it. I would rather remain as I am. Don't think that it will soften me up any." Draax replied, "I'm not doing it to soften you up. I don't care what you think, but I have given you forgiveness, just as James has told me about the one that has forgiven all of us." Apollo shouted with rage, "Not that fake crutch again! However, being the spineless sap you are, I would expect you to rely on that fraud now." Draax said, "Apollo please. Give this up. Call off the fight. Forgive and be forgiven! I don't want you to die shutting out the world." Apollo said, "No. I cannot." Draax, looking pained said, "You can. Please. Let it go." Apollo looked like he began to soften, and he walked closer to Draax. He got close and said quietly, "I had my chance. It is over now." Suddenly, Draax felt something stab him. Apollo thrust a dagger into Draax's stomach. "As are you." he said. James yelled, "Apollo no!" Apollo looked into Draax's eyes, and Draax, holding up his hand said, "I love you, my brother." Apollo spat on him, and Draax fell down, dead. James, with horror, ran to Draax's body. He tried to revive him, but it was too late. James, with rage filling his heart. Stood up, and with white knuckles, clutched his sword. Apollo laughed, and looked at James, holding his own weapon. "Funny you know," said Apollo, "I make it very clear that the day he saw me he would die, and he comes anyway." He chuckled sickeningly and said, "I guess some people are just too stupid to care." James, gritting his teeth, replied, "I hope you're happy now. You've made sure that your entire family has died. May the blood on your hands come back to curse you." Apollo said, "You can stop with your grandiose words James. Don't think for one second that I'm sorry in any way. I hated him. My goal has been accomplished. Now, there is only one more person that I need to kill. Would you believe, he stands in front of me? How lucky I am." James shouted back, "How many more need to die?" Apollo responded, holding up his battle axe, "Just. One." James yelled, and the two ran towards each other, and with an audible crash, their weapons slammed together. James raised his sword and brought it down on Apollo, who parried with his massive battle axe. James attacked with ferocity, though Apollo fought with just as much. They each struck, slammed, and iron scraped iron. Apollo shouted and struck out with his battle axe. James dodged, and Apollo's strike had caused him to overreach. James didn't have enough room to land a blow with the sword, so, with the hilt, he struck hard. Apollo gave a grunt of pain and turned around, lifting his axe above his head. James parried it before he could bring it down fully. The force of the blow caused him to let go of his sword, which fell to the ground. Apollo had a look in his eye that James knew. He was out for blood. James fortunately still had his shield in his hand. He lifted it up as Apollo brought his battle axe down. It crashed down with such force that he yelled in pain. Apollo mercilessly brought his axe down, pounding James' shield into his body. He had been creeping back, and now he suddenly saw a loose brick on the floor. Apollo was raising his axe up when James grabbed the brick and flung it at Apollo's face. It landed right on his forehead, which was protected by his helmet. It did give Apollo enough of a jolt that James was able to grab his sword again. He swung his blade, but at the last split-second, Apollo rolled on the floor and got back up on his feet. James, not letting up, swung heavy hits. He was in control now, landing massive strikes with his sword that clanged against Apollo's battle axe. Apollo continued to block, going on the defensive. Suddenly Apollo changed it up, and swung at James' legs. James dodged, but his attack was broken. Apollo performed a massive sideswipe, and James wasn't quite able to dodge it completely. It struck the greaves on his legs. He fell to the floor. Apollo swung his axe with a much force as he could muster. James rolled to the side on his stomach and back. Apollo's axe collided into the ground with a loud metallic bang. James managed to clamber back on his feet. He saw Apollo come at him again. Now, Apollo was in control, and James didn't like it. He shouted in desperation. "Why don't you let me kill you now before I do anything nasty to you!" shouted Apollo while swiping. James parried with his sword and retorted, "You talk too much Apollo. Are we going to fight or have boring conversation?" Apollo replied, "Don't underestimate me as Draax did. You'll end up with the same fate." "No more talk!" shouted James, "Shut up and fight!" "Very well!" shouted Apollo. With that, they clashed again, harder than before. James was suddenly more determined with the mention of Draax, and with his renewed vigor, he attacked, suddenly regaining control of the duel. He swiped and slashed. Apollo began to weaken, James could feel it. James shouted and cut, hacked and slashed. Apollo was on the defensive, and James knew it. He almost seemed like he was hunkering down. Apollo then decided to abandon the traditional duel, and pull out his dirty tricks. He suddenly pulled a knife out of his sleeve and he threw it at James. James couldn't react in time, and he was stabbed in the arm. It wasn't where Apollo had meant to hit, but fortunately it was James' shield arm. He dropped his shield and yelled in pain. The knife was still embedded in his arm. He didn't pull it out, since blood would spurt out, and blood loss was exactly what he didn't want. Apollo laughed, "Did I get you with that one? You can always surrender. A quick death is always better than a long one." James shouted in pain and anger. Apollo then began to relentlessly attack, furiously yelling and attacking with all he was worth. James was getting worried, but he buried it. Fear is something that weakens. Apollo would sense it, and it would only weaken his fighting skills. James, tried to defend himself, but without his shield, he was far more vulnerable. He continued to defend, being beaten back. The intense pain in his arm was a distraction he couldn't handle. Apollo took his chance, and in a mighty swipe, tried to take off James' head. James dodged, but the only way was to fall to the ground, which he did. Apollo absorbed the recoil of his swing, and stepped on James' chest to pin him down. James felt the weight and looked at Apollo. Apollo stared into his face, as James lay there and said, "You should've given up." James saw him raise his axe above his head, his sword lying out of reach. Suddenly he remembered. He grabbed the knife, tore it out of his arm, and threw it at Apollo as hard as he could. The knife landed in Apollo's chest, in a chink in the armor. Apollo, shocked, dropped the axe below his head, and clutched at the knife. His face went terribly pale, and he fell over. James got up, and saw the blood oozing out of his arm. He quickly wrapped a tunicate around it, and looked at Apollo, sprawled on the ground. Apollo looked at James, not saying a word, and gritted his teeth. "Proud James? Chief of Ark?" James looked at him and said, "No." Apollo gave a grin, shaking his head and giving off a weak chuckle. He shuddered, and said in a low voice, "Curse you and Ark Village. I curse every one of you." with that, he went loose and died. James breathed heavily, this was it. This was the culmination he had wished for. His revenge had been satisfied, but what did he feel? James looked at Apollo, the bane of Ark Village, who had done so much to hurt him and his wife and his village, but now he felt nothing but remorse. This man had a chance. He could've released his hatred, but it poisoned him, and was the death of him. He took his sword, and went back, for all he knew, the battle was lost for Ark. He rushed outside and looked over the field of battle. The Titanosaurus was down, but many Dino Raiders and Ark Villagers were fighting hand to hand in the village now. He had taken Apollo's battle axe in his hand, and he ran over to Hercules, who was inside the village. He mounted him, and Hercules roared an earth shaking roar than stopped the battle momentarily. "Dino Raiders!" he shouted, "Apollo is dead! Here is his axe!" Many Dino Raiders shouted and stepped back. "Now you have two options," shouted James, "Either total surrender, or we will kill anyone still standing."

Laying down their weapons, the Dino Raiders surrendered. The fear of the loss of their leader had paralyzed them. They chose to give up, and James was thankful. There would be no more bloodshed. They gathered up all of the Dino Raider's weapons, and took all of their dinosaurs and creatures. Not a few Terror Birds, the Megalania, the Baryonyx, and many other dinosaurs and creatures. The surrender took a long time to sort out, but soon, the Dino Raiders were imprisoned, while James and the council decided what to do about them.

James was heartbroken. They had lost over 50 people from Ark Village, including Draax. Rhino had been severely wounded by the Megalania, and he was in the makeshift hospital. James visited Rhino, who was overjoyed that the battle was over, though he looked terrible. He reluctantly tore himself away, and oversaw the burial of the dead. All of the men that could work gave each man a grave of his own. James felt the tears streaming down his face as he watched men being lowered into the ground. When it was Draax's turn, he felt a terrible wrench in his heart. However, he felt a little better knowing he had forgiven his brother's sins. He was lowered into his grave and buried. When the burial ceremony was over, he watched as everybody left him. He was alone in the gravesite. He wandered among them, the stones that marked each grave. He fell to his knees and put his face in his hands, crying bitterly. As he wept, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He knew who it was. He grasped it, and felt Shira kneel beside him. He looked up, and saw her through his tears. She was still wearing her armor. She didn't speak, simply looked at him through her own tears. They embraced, thankful it was over, though bitterly sorrowful at the cost.

Rhino had been poisoned. James was shocked, and suddenly worried that Rhino was going to die, however the doctor there said that they had mixed Rockeroot and Stimberries together to create a tincture that had counteracted the Megalania's poison. He was going to be fine. James was relieved, as was Shadow. "I don't know why you're all so concerned about me." said Rhino, "A little lizard poison isn't enough to stop me! I still have things to do!" James shook his head, and Shadow was shaking his head. They walked away, and Shadow looked at James and said, "I'm sorry about Draax." he said. James nodded, "He knew what he was doing." Shadow looked down, "He was a good man." James replied, "He was. He died a good man." Shadow and James continued walking, and as they walked into the court, they saw something horrible. Some of the younger men of the village had set up one of the bodies of the Dino Raiders, and were throwing rocks at it, shouting curses. James and Shadow, enraged came in shouting, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" The men looked up, startled. "Giving these creatures what they deserve!" shouted one. James was shocked at the barbarity of these men. "They may be our enemies, but you will not disrespect the dead. I don't care who they are." "But they-" "Take him down and bury him!" shouted James angrily, "Sir, I don't see why-" "Now!" The men looked angry, but they did as they were told. Shadow was appalled. He walked after the men, and made sure they buried him. They didn't, as James figured. They had dumped the body outside the village. As James looked, he picked up a shovel, which happened to be nearby. As he looked at the body, he felt a chill shoot through him. It was Apollo's body. His grip loosened on the shovel. Here is the man that had done all these terrible things to the village. By his hand, all of the brave men of Ark had been killed. He had destroyed lives, killed his brother whose arms were ready to embrace. He had threatened him, insulted and injured his wife, and was responsible for the weeping wives and children, brothers and sisters in the soldier's cemetery. Surely this man didn't deserve a proper burial. Surely he deserved the stoning that the young men had just given him. He couldn't bury this man. He didn't deserve it. He threw the shovel down, and began to walk away. He stopped though, and looked behind him. His words he had shouted at the men came back. He had called what they did barbarity. He had been appalled at their treatment of the body. Would he have considered the rejection of burial just as despicable? He remembered that even through all of Apollo's sins, and all that he had done, he knew that he was loved, he could've been forgiven by the one that had created James. James knew that he was just as sinful as Apollo, just as hopeless, but Jesus had forgiven him. Who was he to reject Apollo? James suddenly realized that in his refusal to bury Apollo, he was effectively refusing to forgive him, the one thing that Draax was able to do just before he died. He walked back, took up the shovel, and thrust it into the ground. He took the earth out and thrust it back in. He dug the pit, took Apollo's body, and respectfully buried him. Throwing the soil back on, he looked down, and whispered words that were so hard to say, "I forgive you." He didn't shed a tear, but he felt as if a huge weight had rolled off of him. The forgiveness he had so long pushed aside had now happened. He meant what he said, and as he laid the stone on the head of the grave, he sighed, took up the shovel, and walked off. He had carved a small message on the stone that read, "A forgiven man."


	32. Chapter 32: Aftermath

Chapter 33

Aftermath

James looked over the scene, it was good for him to look at. There were repairmen tearing down the battlements around the village. He had helped refill the pits and traps, he had healed some of his dinosaurs, and many of the men that had been wounded were recovering and getting back on their feet. Within several weeks, the entire village had been stripped of all signs of war, and though there were still many that visited the cemetery, things were getting back to normal. James and Shira had done their best to help heal those who had been hurt. The battle had been a nightmare that James was more than willing to let go. He had visited the cemetery, and finally was able to fully cope with Draax's death. He had only been at Ark Village for a few weeks, but he had become a good friend to much of the village during that time. Witnessing his death had been one of the worst things James could ever remember. It was almost hard to believe that it was all over, that the threat of the Dino Raiders really was gone. He had tried so hard to get to this point, and here he was. Now that it was over, his goal was to help rebuild.

"You want to do it now?" asked Shira. "Why not?" asked James. James wanted to go on another hunting expedition. Now that the Dino Raiders were no longer a threat, he wanted to go exploring once more. He and Shira had missed those days, and he wanted them back. Shira looked at him, smiled and said, "Well than let's go."

It had been six months since the Battle, and things were finally almost back to normal. Repairs had been almost completed, and the signs of war were all but a distant bad dream. James still had dreams of the battle, and night after night he'd continually see Draax getting stabbed by Apollo. He had done his best to put it out of his mind, and he had, though the battle and its memory he knew would haunt him forever. They had taken their animals and set out, ready to finally return to normal after such a long period of fear. They usually hunted in the slim belt between the hot jungles and the icy Northlands. They camped in the area once they reached it, and began hunting. Shira and James both cautiously crept around and ended up harvesting a hog. At the fire that night, they both stared up into the stars, content. "I remember when you first taught me to look up there." said Shira. James nodded, "So do I. You've gone through a lot since then." Shira smiled, "I've become a better person since then, and it's all thanks to you." James shook his head, "No, I wasn't the only one that helped you, God helped you along, I just gave you the push." Shira looked at him, "Even through all of this, I still have nothing that I would change." James nodded, though he himself did wish he could've changed some things, but it was too late for such thoughts now. He looked into his wife's eyes, and said, "Thank you for helping me."

Their expedition had been fruitful, and they had spent three days in the wild. They were all ready to return to the village with a lot of meat for the village, as well as some skins. When James returned, Shira went to do some repair work on her favorite set of clothes, so James went into the village square. As he wandered around, he was waved at by one man, and he waved back. He looked and saw a smiling mother looking down at her little girl, James looked to see the girl hand a flower up to her mother, and James smiled and kept walking. As he looked, he saw even more smiling faces, happiness and contentment. It was here, James finally realized, the nightmare, was indeed over.

James looked at Rhino and Shadow, the both of them had a decision they wanted to make. James rubbed his chin, and said, "If that's what you want you should do it. It's certainly big enough." Rhino nodded, "I'd like to do it." James nodded, "Alright then." Rhino extended his hand, and James shook it with a smile. Shadow followed suit. James smiled and saw them out the door, watching them mount Ronen and Batya and make their way to their new home. He walked over to his house to see Shira playing with her Raptor. He smiled and watched her for a little bit, looking like a girl playing with a dog. The Raptor yelped with pleasure as it play-chased Shira around. Suddenly Shira tripped, but the Raptor stopped, nuzzled her, and laid down next to her, Shira laughing happily. "The lion shall lie down with the lamb." James said to himself. She was behind the house, and James was watching her from the balcony. He walked down the steps and chuckled to himself. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked, "Shira looked up, a huge grin on her face. Her Raptor barked at James' approach, and James said, "Hello yourself, as he stroked its nose. Shira got up, "How did the meeting go? What did Shadow and Rhino want?" James replied, "They want something new." Shira raised an eyebrow, "What's that?" James said back, "Rhino and Shadow both want to become heads of their own villages." Shira looked surprised, "Really? I thought they loved it here." "They do, but I manage a good deal of the village. It practically runs itself. We don't have to worry about taxes or wars at all. They're feeling bored." Shira shrugged, "What will they do?" James replied, "Shadow and Rhino both want to run the village at Lake Lore for a while, Shadow said that things here at Ark Village and Lake Lore are beginning to get a bit crowded, so he wanted to build a new one. Later, not right now, but in the near future. I think Rhino is more than happy with heading Lake Lore for right now." Shira laughed, "That sounds like Rhino." James was happy now, even though things were changing, it was for the better.

James looked at his map. He never stopped wondering. Why is this island so big? Where was everything else? Though James didn't know, he always wondered if this was an alternate world. It seemed silly, if not outright ridiculous, but everything about this place made him wonder. It seemed highly unlikely, if not impossible, that this island could've remained undiscovered for so long, even after the invention of satellites, which could survey the entire globe. There were creatures here that never lived on earth, or been found in the fossil record. He had drawn up a detailed map of all the locations they had discovered. He was inside of the village hall. It was a huge room full of tables, with trophies lining the walls from dinosaurs. There was also a large shelf filled with books, maps, tablets and manuscripts written by Ark's citizens. He rolled up his map and placed it back on the shelf. He looked around and pulled out Shadow's book of dossiers. Sat down at one of the tables, and thumbed through it. So many dinosaurs, each one different, each one special in its own way. He loved looking through this wonderful book every so often. He heard the door open with a loud creak. He looked over his shoulder to see Shira looking at him, smiling. "Rhino told me you were here." she said walking over. "How did he know?" he asked. "Oh, he just saw you walk in." She walked over and peered into the book before looking over at the shelf and pulling out James' map. Shira looked over it for a while and said, "Do you think that this is some sort of alternate world?" she asked. James couldn't believe she was thinking the same thing. "I don't know." he said, "It seems stupid the think that but...I don't know. It might be." "Then we should count ourselves lucky." she said. "Why do you say that?" asked James. Shira walked up to James, put her hand on his cheek and said, "Because it means that nobody from the outside will be able to come in and take all this away from us." James smiled and saw her heartfelt smile. Wherever he was, and whatever the problems, he was ready. The challenges ahead, he would face gladly. Everything was finally how it was meant to be. He had a village, a wife, loyal friends, and a village behind him. This was his life, and he was glad of it. He embraced Shira, a long, and joyful embrace that he never wanted to end. When it did, he looked into his wife's face. He didn't see the cares she had, he only saw a willingness to press on with a glad heart. He opened the doors of the hall, and saw the sunlight stream in. Spread out before him in vivid colors was the place he loved, the land, forever known as...

Ark

The End


End file.
